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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121294">Doing the Right Thing?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Every_Day_Im_Hufflin/pseuds/Every_Day_Im_Hufflin'>Every_Day_Im_Hufflin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Doing the Right Thing [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted Peter Parker, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Homeless Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Peter Parker, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Irondad, Kidnapped Peter Parker, Orphan Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sick Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, spiderson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:33:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>65,787</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121294</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Every_Day_Im_Hufflin/pseuds/Every_Day_Im_Hufflin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Doing the right thing shouldn’t be this hard, right? That’s what Peter told himself day in and day out, but the world decided to still make his life more miserable (Thanks Parker Luck ™). That was until a knight in shining armor (well it had to be shining if it was bright red) literally fell out of the sky and disturb his perfectly good sleeping arrangements.<br/>…….<br/>Or my take on a Peter Parker Hydra AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Happy Hogan &amp; Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker &amp; Pepper Potts, Peter Parker &amp; Pepper Potts &amp; Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Doing the Right Thing [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1216</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Lost and Found Irondad Fics, The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics, hydra peter parker</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! This is my first published fic in probably 6 years (when I was a naive soul who only knew about fanfiction net) and my first Marvel fic, so super nervous but this is my quarantine baby and hope it can bring some joy to some people!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter Parker knew he was different. He understood that it wasn’t normal to be able to stick to surfaces, lift objects ten times his weight, and sense things before they happened. But it wasn’t like he had asked for this and he was pretty sick of the world continuing to kick him when he was doing the right thing. It was the right thing right? Peter sometimes second guessed himself these days, especially at night, and especially when the temperatures kept falling and he couldn’t lose his baby fat fast enough to smuggle himself into any shelters and convince the supervisors that he was of age. </p><p>No, he couldn’t let those tempting thoughts of warmth consume him. He just needed to focus on taking the day one at a time. Sure he hadn’t figured out what exactly he was doing this winter when it became harder to thermoregulate. He had basically growled at the sky when the first snowflake of the impending winter fell on him. Peter knew logically that he should move to somewhere warmer, like Florida or Fiji, but New York was <em> home </em>. Or at least the closest concept he had of home. </p><p>Home. The social unit formed by a family living together. I mean New York was the last time his whole family lived together. He had distant memories of going to the zoo and being lifted onto his Dad’s shoulders to see the elephants while his mother rattled off facts about their social hierarchy and formations, filling Peter’s brain with a thirst to constantly know more (the elephant exhibit was closed when Peter went back to the zoo this year and he was very disappointed).</p><p>Peter tried to rack his brain for more of those happy memories, trying to incentivize himself to stay as he curled up next to the dumpster. He had picked this spot as it had many optimizing factors. The dumpster was large and solid enough that it blocked off most of the gusts of wind down the alley. Part of the roof hung over the alley creating a reliably dry spot for Peter to curl up in most nights. The dumpster itself was next to a restaurant and if he was lucky, they would deposit of the leftovers in it before the end of the night and he could get an actual dinner (breakfast and lunch were guaranteed at school; it was just willing his metabolism to slow itself down between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am). And it was only a 30 minute walk to his school, very doable in the morning. </p><p>School, he had school tomorrow and he glanced down at his watch and saw that it was 1:45 in the morning and his body still wouldn’t let him go to sleep. The boy groaned to himself wrapping his arms tighter around his backpack after fidgeting with his beanie pressing down his wild curls. He wiped his nose against his sweatshirt, closing his eyes again as he coughed. In an effort to calm his brain and hopefully force it to go to sleep, he started going through his periodic table, finding a familiar comfort in it. He had been dozing by the time he got to Scandium, a Transition Metal, when he was suddenly woken by a crash of debris falling on top of him. </p><p>Peter was immediately on alert when the debris hit him, trying to figure out what had caused it. The ground wasn’t shaking so it couldn’t be an earthquake. It didn’t seem like there was more debris falling from the sky, so it was a repetitive attack. Instead the dust was settling in his hair, coating his backpack, and invading his lungs as he groaned coughing trying to get it out. Slowly, he started to wiggle himself out from pieces of concrete as he looked up and saw the wall at the end of the alley had been blown out. He tried to wipe the dust from his face reorienting himself as he stood up before freezing as a bright blue light found itself inches away from his face. He stumbled back, almost falling over the pieces of debris as he instinctively reached for his webshooters before remembering that he had run out of his last batch of web fluid. “You aren’t a drone?” The voice asked and Peter tentatively squeezed his eyes open (which he hadn’t even realized he had shut, nice going Parker). </p><p>Peter realized that he was staring not only at a bright blue light that hadn’t been lowered, but a suit of armor and he gasped, “You’re Iron Man.” Of course he had heard of all the Avengers, they were one of the favorite subjects of his classmates at lunch, who swapped stories about their sightings (Betty Brandt had insisted that she saw Thor at a Starbucks). Even before then, he had heard about them in passing from various Hydra guards, a group of enhanced beings that were dead set on destroying Hydra. But they were never relevant to his missions (at least yet). Oh God, was that why Iron Man was here and holding him hostage? Did he think that Peter was still with them? Or that he was going to be arrested for what he had done for them in the past. Peter opened his mouth about to try to explain that he was really just trying to lay low and be normal when Iron Man interrupted him, “Yeah I am. You alright there, kid?” The man asked as the face plate flipped up and Tony lowered his blaster.</p><p>Maybe Tony didn’t really know who he was then and this was just a coincidence if he was disarming himself. Peter let out a sigh of relief thinking that he was safe. “Kid, hello?” The man asked again and Peter blushed realizing that he hadn’t given him a response. God his brain felt slow in functioning today. </p><p>“Yeah, yeah, maybe concussed, I don’t know,” he replied casually as he leaned down trying to dig his backpack out of the rubble. </p><p>“Concussed?!” </p><p>“Just slightly, Mr. Stark,” Peter quickly back peddled when he saw the worried look on the man’s face. </p><p>Slightly concussed is still concussed,” Tony reminded him and Peter had to snort. This was not at all the worst of his injuries (didn’t even crack the Top 10 of his list). </p><p>“I’m fine, nose isn’t even broken,” he tried to give the man a smile to reassure him as he looked around the alley. He was definitely going to have to relocate after this, it would take weeks to clean up. </p><p>“Got a name kid?” Tony asked as he was pulling up his scanner looking through the rubble for something. </p><p>The teenager hesitated for a moment before realizing his first name was common enough that he shouldn’t get into trouble, “Peter.” </p><p>“Well Peter,” Tony crouched down and started to rifle through the debris. “What is your slightly concussed self doing out here at nearly 2 am?” He asked a bit alarmed when he realized the time himself. “On a Thursday night, isn’t this a little bit past your bedtime?” </p><p>Peter’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t have a bedtime,” he crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing in my alley at 2 am on a Thursday?” He countered and almost jumped back when Tony let out a victorious whoop. </p><p>“Found you, little piece of shit,” he pulled out a smooshed metal drone from the rubble. “Trying to steal my proprietary tech, nope, not letting you go back to Oscorp,” he spoke to the drone before turning back to the teenager. “Oh this is your alley now? I didn’t realize that your name was really anywhere on it,” Tony teased. </p><p>“Well you crashed through the nameplate,” Peter deadpanned and was surprised when Tony barked out a laugh in response. Whenever he tried to joke around adults, they either rolled their eyes or he got a hard reprimand that weapons don’t speak out of turn. </p><p>“I like you kid,” he grinned at the boy, fully stepping out of the suit and dusting himself off as Peter watched the suit fold up and shot off back towards the direction of the Avengers Tower. “Well since I destroyed your alley, best I can offer you is a ride back home, don’t worry I’ll play it cool and won’t tell your parents that you were out this late on a Thursday.” </p><p>Peter’s stomach fell when Tony stared to talk about giving him a ride back home. It was an incredibly kind gesture and I mean it did make sense as to why Tony may think that Peter was out this late, not that all of his possessions had been tightly packed in the backpack now resting on his shoulders. “It’s fine Mr. Stark,” he tried to give the man a reassuring smile as he dusted himself off. </p><p>“Nonsense,” the man waved him off again. “Be irresponsible to let a slightly concussed teenager just wander his way home, I can call us a car,” Tony insisted and Peter was starting to get slightly panicked. He couldn’t even give Tony a random address since he didn’t have any friends at Midtown, and he was sure that the man’s hovering would extend to watching him go inside the home. </p><p>“No, it’s fine,” he tried to laugh it off as he inched his way towards the entrance of the alley. </p><p>Tony picked up on the kid slowly inching away from him and cut him off raising an eyebrow, “You want to tell me what you were doing in this alley again?” </p><p>Peter’s breathing picked up when Tony had blocked his escape and he felt the walls closing in on him. He couldn’t let Tony pry anymore than he did. Sometimes a good Samaritan would try and ask where his family was, but he always found a way to escape. He knew that if he was caught, the police would put him into foster care. What scared him the most about that was that he knew they would take his picture and fingerprints in case he ran away. Once that data was in the system, he was sure it would only be a matter of time until Hydra tracked him down. He had worked too hard to go back now. </p><p> But whenever it was just a nosy passerby, he could just outrun them and slip through their fingers; this was Iron Man interrogating him. Still he needed to try and ducked under Tony’s arm, ready to sprint for it if needed. Peter thought that at least had the advantage of Tony’s suit being tucked away somewhere. However, he barely got a foot before Tony caught on his arm, utilizing the teenager’s concussion and delayed reaction time against him. “Why don’t we try this again, kid? Or I’m going to have to get the cops involved for sure,” he threatened and Peter paled as Tony held him in place against the dumpster. “You a member of a gang or something and staking the place out?” Tony prompted the boy who quickly shook his head. “Then why don’t you tell me the truth as to why you look so scared?” </p><p>“I-I-I was sleeping, sir,” Peter blurted out to Tony trying to get this questioning to end. “Just sleeping, promise,” Peter squirmed under his gaze, never having done well when he was the center of attention, especially when the attention came from a superior. </p><p>“Why would you be sleeping, it’s the middle of November?” Tony asked as Peter ducked his head embarrassed by the whole situation. Tony followed his gaze and saw the nearly falling apart shoes Peter was currently sporting and he finished with, “Oh,” his face softening as he connected the dots as to why Peter was sleeping in this alley. “Don’t you have someone to look after you? I thought they had a system so kids weren’t on their own,” Tony rambled, his voice much quieter as his grip loosened on the teenager. </p><p>“I’m not going into the system,” Peter declared fiercely, trying to get around Tony, thinking the man was going to turn him in there. “No way, I will fight, kick, scream, you’re not putting me in there.” </p><p>Tony still didn’t let Peter run but he quickly cut him off, “Hey, hey, hey, calm down, who said I was going to turn you in there?” He asked hoping the boy’s breathing would level off so he wouldn’t work his way into a panic attack. “You must have a good reason or you wouldn’t be upset would you?” He asked Peter who was still in flight mode and trying to look for a way around Tony. But once he processed that Tony wasn’t trying to drag him to the nearest police station, Peter tried to take a deep breath and get his emotions in check. “You know you can’t stay here though, kid, right?” Tony finished once he had seen Peter settle. “It’s freezing out and you don’t even have a coat on.” </p><p>Peter still refused to look at Tony. He knew that this wasn’t the smartest idea staying out here on his own, that if he listened to his survival instincts he would’ve never left Hydra. But he couldn’t just stay there, not after- Peter swallowed trying to get that memory of that night off his mind, tucked deeper inside. “Coats are expensive,” Peter murmured to the man. </p><p>And with that statement, Tony knew he had to step in and do something, “That has got to be the saddest statement, I’ve ever heard,” he sighed looking around the alley. “Let me get you a place to stay tonight. My tower has plenty of space, like at least fifty guest rooms,” Tony offered. “It’s only right after I destroyed your alley and slightly concussed you, yeah?” The man tried to tease and get the boy to trust him just an inch. </p><p>Peter bit his lip, unsure of what to do with the offer. On one hand, it meant a night of warmth, maybe even a chance to clean himself up. On the other hand, it meant also getting attached to someone, especially someone who was on Hydra’s radar. Would he be more in danger staying out here or going with Tony? The man interrupted the boy’s musings, “I won’t report you to anyone if you let me just make sure you get back on your feet,” he promised, sensing Peter’s hesitation. “I can’t in good faith promise that I won’t do that if you just run,” Tony told the teenager honestly. He knew that it was manipulative to a certain extent, but the kid was so skinny that he looked like the next gust of wind would knock him over. And what would happen if his concussion got worse? Peter had been ignored by others for far too long, someone needed to step in and take a stand. </p><p>“Just until I’m back on my feet?” Peter asked Tony quietly. If he took some time to heal and re-orient himself, it had to be worth the momentary increased risk of detection by Hydra? Peter was starting to understand that he needed to play the long game too, and not just focus on day by day survival.   </p><p>“That’s all I ask right now, if you want to stay longer or leave, we can work something out then,” Tony reasoned, watching those big Bambi eyes flicker through a range of emotions trying to anticipate the kid’s next steps.</p><p>“I guess you kinda destroyed my home, and there’s not a lot of good alleys around here,” Peter replied, a ghost of a smile on his lips. <br/>“Yeah? Destroyed some prime real estate?” Tony teased back, relaxing when he realized that he had convinced the kid. </p><p>“Not what you would expect from a superhero really,” Peter shook out the dust from his hat. </p><p>“Well occupational hazard really, though I think the Mayor’s office hates me at this point,” he gestured for Peter to follow him out of the alley, already having contacted Happy to come pick them up so they wouldn’t need to walk back to the Tower. </p><p>“But didn’t you save the city like a few years back?” Peter asked Tony as he rocked on his heels waiting with Tony for something (maybe a ride), at the edge of the alley. “That’s like infinite karma points in your favor.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Tony had to admit, he liked how the kid talked to him. Most of the time whenever he met someone knew they were preoccupied with getting something out of the conversation (and by extent Tony). Peter was the complete opposite, seeming to try and do everything to just get Tony to leave him alone. The lack of an ulter motive was refreshing, “I’ll bring that up at my next meeting when I’m called in to explain this,” he gestured back to the destroyed wall. Pepper would be upset in the morning.</p><p>“Or you could just blame it on the pigeons or something, they’re like crazy aggressive here,” Peter shrugged and Tony laughed again. Yeah, this Peter kid was sure something different. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter was convinced that the fabric that he was sitting on was just about the most expensive thing he had touched in his whole life. He couldn’t find a speck of dirt on the interior leather (well until some of the dust brushed off him and the chauffeur gave him a dirty look). “My fault, Happy,” Tony reassured the man, not wanting him to get off on the wrong foot with Peter. The man was very protective of his car, knowing how the image affected Tony. “I’ll clean it up,” he promised. </p><p>Happy rolled his eyes, “I’ve known you for what, like 15 years now? Never once have I seen you voluntarily clean something.” </p><p>“Sorry, I can just,” Peter tried to brush it off the seat, but in the process ended up just spreading the dust further across the back and he blushed when Happy clearly saw the mess that he was making. </p><p>“Just sit still kid,” Happy sighed, somehow this kid that Tony had picked up was worse at cleaning than the man was. Peter shrunk against the seat which somehow was heated (?) He didn’t even realize that seats could do that. It was so easy to just let himself relax into the seat, cherishing the feeling of being somewhere warm and safe at night for once.</p><p>With it being so late, Peter found himself slowly falling to sleep before a hand snapped in front of his face, “Uh uh,” Tony warned when he saw the kid drifting off. “Slightly concussed kids don’t get to fall asleep until they’ve been checked out and okayed by the medical wing, so come on, sit up,” he coaxed Peter having been through this a thousand times on missions that he knew the protocol by heart. He was a bit surprised when the teenager gave him a glare that rivaled the ice in Pepper’s as he adjusted himself to sit up. “Come on, I’ll get you a snack when we go through medical,” Tony tried to bribe the boy who had been quiet since entering the car. </p><p>“Anything I want?” Peter asked for the conditions, the corner of his lips tugging up in a smile. </p><p>“If you want a strip steak, hell Happy will make it for you,” Tony answered. </p><p>“I’m not your housekeeper, I’m your head of security,” Happy protested from the front seat. </p><p>“I thought you were my forehead of security,” Tony joked while Happy let out an exasperated sigh. </p><p>“I don’t get paid nearly enough for this.”</p><p>Tony saw Peter drifting again and figured that the next best thing he could do was distract the kid to keep him from falling asleep, “So how old are you exactly kid?” Tony questioned and Peter shifted looking like he was avoiding the question. </p><p>Happy had nephews though so he had experience with getting kids to talk, “Little runt looks like he’s 10 or something,” Happy teased. </p><p>Immediately he defended himself, “I’m not ten! I’m thirteen,” his voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. “I’m thirteen,” he tried to lower his voice and get it under control and Tony had to admit that was pretty fucking cute. He remembered being surrounded by kids a good four years older than him and doing everything he could to act older. Happy caught Tony’s eye giving him a knowing smile when they finally got the information they wanted.</p><p>“Sorry, Happy doesn’t have much experience around pipsqueaks so he either thinks they’re babies or fully grown,” Tony threw Happy under the bus knowing he would need to gain the trust of this teenager somehow. But geez, this kid was barely a teenager, to be living on his own, trying to find his own food and shelter that must have been beyond difficult. “How long have you been calling that alley su casa?” </p><p>Peter didn’t see any reason as to lie as Tony already knew he was a minor and had been sleeping there for some time, “That particular alley? Like three months, but it took a while to find that one, like I said it was prime real estate,” Peter began to ramble. “The dumpster was really solid, it blocked out a lot of the wind, and the roof was just right so that it didn’t rain on you that much at night, and there wasn’t like any really annoying neon billboards.” </p><p>“Well of course, you wouldn’t want it to clash with your grungy look,” Tony teased pointing to Peter’s dark clothes who scowled in response. “And how long have you been living in alleys in general?” Tony asked, trying to get a sense into how much care this kid was going to need. He was dreading the answer, worried that the kid had spent years on his own based on how non-phased he was with Tony destroying his “home”. Maybe the kid had never really had a home. </p><p>“About seven months now,” he admitted to the man hoping that it wasn’t going to get him in more trouble. Happy breathed in sharply. A kid, Peter’s age, surviving on his own for seven months? Someone had clearly failed this teenager. “B-But I don’t always sleep in alleys,” he protested. “Sometimes there’s an open spot at a shelter, but there’s not as many open when it’s gotten colder,” Peter explained to Tony. “And no one will hire me right now because I look so young, so I can’t even rent an apartment,” he further complained. </p><p>“Yeah you’ve got a bit to go on the baby fat until someone will take you seriously,” Tony gently teased. “So when you aren’t sleeping in alleys and not working, what are you doing?” </p><p>“I go to school,” Peter declared, raising his head to meet Tony’s gaze, a glimmer of pride shining in his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah?” Tony was a bit surprised considering the boy’s living situation; he was still trying to go to school. He remembered how much he hated school when he was Peter’s age. “You like it?”</p><p><br/>“Love it,” he immediately replied with a broad grin.</p><p><br/>“You go to a nice school or something?” He watched the boy hesitate as if debating how much personal information he should impart on Tony. “Have to know who to call tomorrow so you don’t get in trouble for skipping.” </p><p>“Oh no, Mr. Stark-” Peter started. </p><p>“Kid, it’s approaching three in the morning, you haven’t slept, and you have a</p><p>concussion, going to school would be useless tomorrow,” Tony listed off. </p><p>“But they don’t know about all this,” he gestured to himself. </p><p>“Don’t worry kid, I’ll stick with whatever cover story you must have made up in order to stay out of trouble there,” Tony assuaged him. </p><p>“Really?” Peter confirmed. </p><p>“Yeah, I said I was going to help you get back on your feet, so come on, name of the school,” he asked again.     </p><p>“Midtown Science and Tech,” Peter informed him, fiddling with his hands. “It’s a combined middle and high school near-”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ve heard of the school. You go to Midtown?” Tony leaned back in his seat impressed. “You smart or something then?” <br/>Peter hesitated for a moment before smiling, turning pink, “Maybe just a little.” </p><p>“Just a little?” Tony prompted, seeing the kid start to grow in confidence before him, sitting up a bit taller. “Tell me Peter, what’s your GPA there?”</p><p><br/>“Uh, a 4.0 right now, but I haven’t gotten my gym grade yet,” he reported back. </p><p>“Just a little bit smart? Getting perfect grades at Midtown means you’re just a little bit smart?” He continued to tease him. “Maybe Stark industries might have an internship open for a student that gets perfect grades at Midtown,” he dangled the opportunity in front of the teenager who’s eyes widened. </p><p>“Really? That would be amazing, Mr. Stark, I mean your tech is amazing,” Peter rambled before his breathing caught up with him and he covered his mouth trying to suppress a fit of coughs. </p><p>“Why don’t we work on trying to sort that cough out first and then we can hammer out the details,” Tony promised the boy looking up when Happy spoke up. </p><p>“Already here boss.” Happy parked the car under the Tower and Tony started to climb out of the car, Peter following suit trying to sweep out the dust before Tony waved him off. </p><p>“It’ll never be clean enough for Hap, don’t worry about it.” </p><p>Peter mumbled an apology to the man before following Tony into the elevator. Peter tried not to fidget too much when they were in the elevator, but he was incredibly nervous about the situation. What if he got caught? By either Hydra or Tony? He had been out of Hydra’s grasp for so long (or at least it felt that way), he couldn’t imagine going back and having to follow orders again, hurting anyone he was told to without any regard towards his own well being. Peter had learned that the hard way when he was eight, exhausted from training, and too slow to dodge his handler’s knife. Peter wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling the scar on his torso under the t-shirt. </p><p>But if Tony found out that he was a lab experiment, who knows how he would react? He had seen the news, lots of people were terrified of those that were enhanced. But it’s not like Peter asked to be like this, he wasn’t the one experimenting with the serum, he had just been a little kid. If he could give up his powers and be normal again, he would happily take up the chance to do so. But seeing how the spider serum had shifted his DNA, he had no idea how to shift it back. So instead, he just pretended to be normal, only using his powers when he forgot to cover them up. Maybe Tony would see that he was trying to be normal and would forgive him, but he couldn’t take that chance right now. Not when he had just gotten the offer to stay somewhere and get back on his - “You ok there, kid?” Tony interrupted his musings and Peter sharply looked up at him. </p><p>“Yeah,” he lied, giving him a weak smile. “Just tired and you know..” he trailed off. </p><p>“Concussed,” Tony finished for him. </p><p>“Yeah, that thing,” he let out a breathy laugh. </p><p>“I’ll get you checked out, grab you something to eat, then you can rest,” Tony promised the teenager though he had a million questions buzzing in his mind to ask him. The kid was just so tiny and yet he was taking care of himself and had been for months? He wondered where this teenager’s parents were and how they had been treating him if the streets seemed like a better option for him at this time. Tony remembered being Peter’s age and barely functioning, still relying on Jarvis to look after himself (even if he protested that fact). Somehow this child was surviving and still handling his schoolwork on top of everything else. But he saw how the kid was practically squirming in the elevator (almost like he had a fear of being trapped), and he decided that most of those questions would be asked another day. He needed to make sure that Peter didn’t bolt before he asked them. “Here we are,” Tony introduced, stepping out on the medical floor.  </p><p>Peter tried to quell the uneasy feeling he got whenever he entered a lab setting, knowing that he needed to sacrifice his comfort temporarily just to make sure some debris didn’t hit him too hard. But when he opened his eyes he was pleasantly surprised with the number of windows that were surrounding the floor looking onto the New York skyline. That’s one of the things he came to loathe growing up; the Hydra base was underground. It made sense, easier to hide what they were doing there and appear that it was just a deserted facility. But being constantly surrounded by four concrete walls made every room seem smaller, especially as he was growing taller. This wing didn’t foster the same claustrophobic feelings, instead he was intrigued by the bright lights of the city though most were sleeping. </p><p>He loved how lively New York was. Peter thought that he was one of the only people that truly liked rush hour and being surrounded by others who had their own normal lives and plans and families. “This way,” Tony spoke up, almost wrapping an arm around Peter’s shoulders to direct him across the floor before hesitating and dropping it to the side. Who knew if this kid liked being touched or not? </p><p>“There’s no one here,” Peter stated bluntly as he followed Tony further into the floor. </p><p>“We’re a little short staffed at the moment,” Tony replied. </p><p>“Then what are we doing here?” Peter asked confused as Tony gestured towards one of the examining tables but instead Peter opted for the rolling chair next to it (<em> too many memories of hands lifting him up and pushing him down, locking him in place despite his protests, screaming for his Dad </em>). </p><p>“Figuring out how bad your concussion is,” Tony shrugged, rifling through the drawers behind him for something. </p><p>“But there’s no one here,” Peter protested again wondering almost if Tony was the one with the concussion. </p><p>“I’m here,” the man countered as he moved onto the next drawer, having not found what he was looking for. </p><p>“You’re a doctor?” Peter asked skeptically. </p><p>“Yup,” Tony popped the “p”. </p><p>“A medical doctor?” </p><p>“Well I have a doctorate,” Tony backtracked. </p><p>“In what field?” Peter tilted his head. </p><p>“Oh you know,” he replied vaguely waving him off, “Robotics.” </p><p>“But I’m not a robot!” Peter’s voice cracked. </p><p>“Probably close enough,” Tony pushed aside the kid’s protests before he yelled, “Ah ha!” </p><p>“Mr. Stark, probably’s not good enough!” </p><p>“Don’t worry, kid, I’m not charging you for this, relax,” he teased the boy. “Besides I have picked up a fair amount of first aid over the years getting hurt myself, and I can figure out if the concussion is bad enough to call in my very expensive doctor in her off time, with this little thing,” Tony claimed, shining a small flashlight in Peter’s eyes. </p><p>“Ow, why?” Peter complained squeezing his eyes shut and leaning away from Tony. </p><p>“Didn’t cause you to throw up so that’s a good sign you can deal with stimuli,” Tony explained. “Come on, open them up, I promise I won’t be mean for long and I’ll give you a treat afterwards.” </p><p>Tentatively, Peter squeezed his eyes open and at least the light wasn’t shining directly at them this time. “Try and follow it just with your eyes, not your head,” he coaxed the boy. Peter was able to follow his instructions fairly easily as Tony moved the flashlight around. </p><p>“Any dizziness?” </p><p>“No,” Peter shook his head. </p><p>“Nausea?” </p><p>Peter shook his head again. </p><p>“Balance issues?” </p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Headaches?” </p><p>“Maybe a small one?” </p><p>“General feelings of resentment towards the world and myself?” Tony teased. </p><p>“Uh - I don’t think so?”</p><p>Tony snorted, “You’ll live kid, unfortunately you won’t get to sue me for millions of dollars for medical damage,” he moved towards the fridge. </p><p>“I could do that?” Peter asked, confused. </p><p>“You could try, lots of people do,” he sighed, before bringing over a purple pouch with a straw sticking out of it. “Drink up kid.” </p><p>Peter looked at it confused for a moment, debating whether to voice his question, “What is it?” He furrowed his eyebrows. </p><p>“A Smoothie, duh. Pepper, she’s my fiance, makes a bunch for me when I get back from missions, got some fruit, protein powder, yogurt,” he listed off for the kid. Maybe he was a picky eater, but what kind of teenager couldn’t recognize a smoothie? </p><p>Peter shrugged and started to drink it letting out a happy sigh and giving Tony a thumbs up, showing that he liked it. </p><p>Tony walked over to the cabinets before pulling out a pack of cough drops, “Heard you had a nasty cough on the way over, these should tide you to the morning and I supposed we can get a medical doctor to look at you since you’re so particular about that.” </p><p>“I-I-I mean, I didn’t mean to criticize,” Peter stumbled, feeling guilty that he had been so vocal about his protests when Tony was literally giving him free food and medicine. </p><p>“Relax, I was kidding,” Tony quickly reassured him. “I know I’m not allowed to be near anything sharp and pointy like a needle.” </p><p>He motioned for Peter to follow him who rubbed his arm, “Not a big fan of needles,” he admitted to Tony as they made their way towards the elevator after Peter had pocketed the cough drops. </p><p>“Don’t think many people are, kid,” Tony snorted and let the silence settle between them as they made their way up to the Penthouse. Tony rested his hands behind his back before venturing, “You sure you don’t need me to call someone to let them know you’re alright?” </p><p>Peter shook his head no, some of his curls falling into his eyes, “I kinda just look after myself,” he admitted to Tony honestly. </p><p>“And your parents?” The question stumbled out of Tony and the man had to wince. He had been trying so hard to have some kind of restraint. </p><p>Peter took a sharp breathe in before settling on, “They’re gone.” </p><p>“Gone as in?” Tony followed up. </p><p>“Uh,” Peter paused, “Dead, yeah,” he finished, pushing back his hair though he was second guessing himself for disclosing that information. </p><p>“Shit, kid,” Tony sighed, rubbing his face. </p><p>Peter immediately tried to reassure Tony, “Don’t worry it happened a long time ago,” he winced at how bad it sounded. </p><p>“That doesn’t really make it-” Tony started and Peter cut him off. <br/>“I know, but it just means I’ve gotten used to it,” he explained to Tony to try and avoid his pity. </p><p>“Peter, you know, it’s not really, good, for you to just, I mean it’s good that you’ve coped but,” Tony started to ramble. </p><p>“Mr. Stark, it’s ok, I’m just really tired tonight,” Peter tried to end the discussion worried that Tony was going to ask more questions into how they died. </p><p>“Alright, alright,” Tony held up his hands in defense, mulling over this new information as they continued to ride the elevator (which Peter was wondering if it was just going purposely slow to get him to talk). “I lost my parents when I was young too,” Tony finally shared hoping that Peter would appreciate a bit of vulnerability from him too. “Not as young as you, but it sucked and I didn’t know what I was doing and I was a mess,” he rambled. “Probably for like 10 years too,” he added. “So you’re probably doing better than I was,” he tried to give Peter an encouraging smile but it came out more like a grimace. </p><p>“Sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter tried to comfort the man, knowing that he was trying to connect in some way. </p><p>“Hey look, we’re here, penthouse view,” Tony announced to Peter as he stepped out of the elevator and welcomed him to the top floor. “Best view in New York in my opinion,” he bragged as he watched Peter slowly start to explore the apartment crossing over to the windows looking over the city. </p><p>“Yeah, I think you might be right,” Peter agreed honestly as he gazed over the bright lights. </p><p>“Come on kid, it’s going to still be here tomorrow. It’s late,” he waved, Peter to follow him down the hallway. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” Peter padded down the hallway as Tony pushed open a bedroom door. “Just one of the guest rooms I have,” he explained. “I’m a few doors down if you need anything.” </p><p>Peter’s jaw practically dropped when he walked into the pristenly maintained bedroom. Centered in it was a giant bed with probably about ten pillows lining the head board. There was also a closet with shelves lining one way across from the windows on the other wall. A TV was mounted across from the bed and the corner had a l-shaped desk. “There’s also a private bathroom over there,” Tony pointed out to the kid. </p><p>“This is your guest room?” Peter blinked at the man. </p><p>“I mean it’s not much, but it’s comfortable enough for when Rhodey comes to stay,” the man explained with a shrug. </p><p>“I’ve never seen a bed this big,” Peter worked on sliding off his shoes and setting his bag to the side. </p><p>“Really?” Tony scrunched up his nose. “Mine’s bigger.” </p><p>“There’s one that’s bigger than this?” He exclaimed, eyes widening. </p><p>“Yeah, we can go on a tour of it tomorrow,” Tony teased. “But this is yours for the foreseeable future, make it your own, teenage this room up.” </p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter genuinely stated. “This is really amazing,” he flopped down on the bed. </p><p>“You’re safe here kid,” Tony tried to reassure him, especially after what he had told the man about his parents. The kid needed some sort of safety net to rely on. “Get some rest, if you wake up before I do, kitchen’s open and free for your use,” Tony added. </p><p>“Ok,” he yawned as he started to strip off his hoodie as he wanted to truly try out this bed, letting the exhaustion from the day catch up with him. </p><p>“Night, Peter,” Tony made his way towards the door seeing the boy’s eyes getting heavier as he was starting to climb under the blankets. </p><p>“Night, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied. settling down and falling asleep within a minute. </p><hr/><p>
  <em> A small boy with brown curly hair and a face too pale to be considered remotely healthy, quietly hummed to himself as he played with the ratty teddy bear that was missing an eye at this point and was smudged with dirt from use as he directed him across the floor, speaking to it softly before he looked up at the door hearing a noise behind it and smiling broadly when Richard Parker tumbled through it, glaring at the guards who constantly escorted him. “Daddy!” The boy greeted brightly pushing himself up and running over to him.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Immediately his face softened when he was met by the sight of his son, still here and  alive. “Petey pie,” he scooped the giggling boy up kissing his stomach just to make him squeal even more in delight. Coming back to Peter never failed to remind him why he was cooperating. He needed to protect his son. Nothing brought back a sense of normalcy like Peter’s laughter did. Despite all the darkness and frankly horror in their lives (though Richard tried to shield Peter as much as he could), his son still was able to bounce back and smile. Richard rested Peter on his hip, preferring to always be in an arm’s distance of the boy, even when it was just the two of them locked in their cell (which he called home to try and create some sense of normalcy for his son). “How was your day?” He asked, loving to hear it when his son just rambled. Quite honestly, it distracted Richard  for a time (before he noticed how three of Peter’s ribs were showing, not just two anymore).  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I had lots of fun,” Peter squeaked as he leaned against Richard’s chest hearing his steady heart beat. “I read to Mr. Beary for a while and then we did gym and then we counted cracks,” he listed off for Richard. “Oh I made a new friend!”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yeah?” He asked moving over to the small cupboard they had seeing what was available for food for Peter. Richard often heard about Peter’s imaginary friends and their elaborate back stories.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “No like a real friend,” Peter stressed worried his Dad wasn’t understanding. “I got to go outside and he measured how tall I was and made me breathe nice and big and I only coughed once,” Peter explained wiggling down from his Dad’s grip before he ran across the room and grabbed something next to his bear. “He said I was really good so I got candy, look,” he presented the gold foiled chocolate coin to Richard who had paled. He knelt down in front of Peter.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Peter, this is really important, you left home?” Richard asked placing his hands on Peter’s shoulders to try and keep him in place so he understood how serious this was.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yeah, cause it was really important,” he explained. “And they said that I was a good boy and needed to listen to them, and you always say I need to be good and listen to you,” he explained, still fiddling while his prized candy.    </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “And they didn’t hurt you or touch you in any way you didn’t like?” Richard asked urgently as he was scanning his son for any injuries. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “No cause I was good, Daddy,” he replied happily.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Peter, this is really important, you don’t leave home. Not without me,” Richard urged him.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “But I was listening and being good-” Peter’s lip wobbled thinking that he had gotten into trouble.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “No, buddy, new rule, I’m not mad,” Richard tried to calm him. “New rule is that if anyone </em>
  <em>tries to make you leave home without me, you say no and stay right here and you scream as loud as you can for me. Ok? Home is safe, and even if they say you are being a bad boy, you are being very very good,” he promised, hugging onto Peter, trying not to think of why they had started to take an interest in his son. “Because you’re listening to me and I’m Dad.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter sniffled, still feeling like he was in trouble and dropped the candy to the side to wrap his arms around his Dad’s neck. “Ok, I promise,” he whispered as he shut his eyes.   </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em> A slightly older Peter was curled up on the bed sniffling as he tried to burrow further into the blankets. Everything was overwhelming at the moment and just so loud. He could hear the water in the pipes, footsteps pacing the hallway in front of his door, a buzz unlocking a door. Why was everything so loud? Why couldn’t he just turn his ears off? He whimpered again when he heard the loud click on the door, making his headache worse but he pushed himself up from his burrow, wiping his tears from his face as a guard came in with a tray of food.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Where’s my Dad?” He asked immediately, trying to look as intimidating as a seven year old could, even when his eyes wanted to follow the tray of stew that was placed on the floor. His stomach ached so much, but the guard acted like he hadn’t even heard Peter. “Where’s my Dad?” he demanded again cutting him off from leaving. The man tried to push him to the side silently, but Peter found that he could hold his ground a lot better these days, almost as if he was sticky. “Answer my question,” he demanded again.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Move, brat,” the guard rolled his eyes when he saw the kid was still in the way.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I want to know where my Dad is,” he yelled at the guard hitting against his legs. “Where’s Dad?” He asked again, angry tears starting to swell in his eyes. “Where is-” Peter was unable to finish his demands as the guard kicked him in the stomach, so hard that his head hit the headboard of the small bed that his Dad and him used to share. Now it was smelling less and less like Dad and more just like Peter.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “He’s isn’t coming back, brat, whining about it is not going to change anything,” the man growled at him. “He was disposed of, we didn’t need him anymore. Now shut up and stop your crying,” the man slammed the door shut, causing Peter to jump in surprise. He pressed a hand to the back of his head, feeling some sticky blood on it. Curling his legs to his chest, he tried again to block out the noise again. He couldn’t be gone, they were lying. He couldn’t be gone.  </em>
</p><hr/><p>Peter woke with a start, breathing hard and shaking, feeling sweat line his t-shirt as he tried to orient himself from his old memories. But he realized that he couldn’t hold it in anymore and he vaulted out of bed sprinting for the bathroom and dumping the contents of his stomach into the toilet. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for all the support coming from the first chapter, it really made me excited to get started on this one! My main problem with getting chapters out is not knowing where things are going, but I actually have a solid plan for this baby so I think I'll actually finish it! Hopefully I can keep pumping out chapters at least on a weekly basis if not more often! Please tell me what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey Peter,” the teenager heard a knock as he was wrapping his arms around the toilet. There was a moment’s silence when Peter couldn’t really bring himself to answer before another knocking warning him, “Hey Peter, I’m coming in now,” the bathroom door swung open. Peter only saw the slippers coming closer as he tried to get the pounding to stop in his head. “Oh kid,” Tony sighed before getting down to sit at the same level as the boy who was enjoying the cool nature of the tile on the floor. “Seems like Pepper’s smoothie didn’t agree with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark,” the boy rambled. “It was really good,” he promised Tony. “And I know this is super gross, and I swear I can clean it up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Breathe Peter, one step at a time, just get oriented,” Tony coaxed, watching the boy rest his forehead against the toilet seat. The man reached over to feel the kid’s forehead, and he was a bit pleased when the teenager didn’t immediately flinch away or protest. However, he started to frown when he realized he was burning up. “Seems like you’re having a pretty crappy night,” he comforted standing up to get some fever reducing medicine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love the bed, Mr. Stark,” he murmured to the man. “I’ve had worse,” he sighed feeling his stomach finally settle as he leaned up against the bathroom wall. He reached for the towel to wipe off his face and the sweat coating his curls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bet you’ve had better nights though,” Tony countered before holding out two pills and a cup of water for Peter. “Let’s see if you can keep that down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter chucked the two pills back and greedily drank the water, not really sure if they would work with his metabolism. “Just stay there kid,” Tony coaxed before pushing himself off the ground and Peter was trying to focus on making the room stop spinning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This couldn’t have been the concussion, right? He was sure he was already healed from it since his headache had faded as they were leaving the medical wing. No, this had to be another beast, but Peter never got sick. He hadn’t tasted any mint in the smoothie that he ate, and usually when that happened (Hydra guards had a weird sense of humor), he would end up puking within the half hour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up when he heard the footsteps come closer crossing his bedroom into the bathroom. “You’ve got a little,” Tony pointed out the spit on his t-shirt that didn’t quite make it to the toilet. “Can’t be very nice wearing that,” he presented the boy with a fresh t-shirt.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged not making a move to really put it on, still out of it and having trouble focusing on much of anything. He looked so miserable to Tony, just slumped against the wall. Peter should at least be comfortable if he was going to be sick. He took the t-shirt back, “Can I?” He moved closer to the boy, taking the hem of Peter’s t-shirt in his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waited for the teenager to give him a reluctant nod, before he pulled the shirt above his head and getting ready to put a fresh one, when he paused for a moment, noticing the long scar on Peter’s side. It wasn’t fresh, which at least reassured Tony that it wasn’t an infection causing this illness, but if it wasn’t recent, how young had the boy been when he had gotten it? And what exactly had caused it? He bit his lip when he could count the number of ribs on the boy and knew that it would be a long road to recovery. Tony didn’t vocalize his musings to Peter as he was already juggling a lot right now and guided the fresh t-shirt on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As much as you’ve now become acquainted with your dear friend, the toilet, I think your bed might miss you,” Tony wrapped an arm around the teenager’s waist helping him up and walking him back to bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter had forgotten what being looked after felt like until he leaned into Tony’s side as they made their way back to the bedroom. It was so strange dealing with gentle touches and soft voices, just trying to make sure that he was alright. “Up we go, kiddo,” Tony fiddled with the pillows as he helped the boy climb into bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re really nice Mr. Stark,” he murmured as he felt the man draw back the covers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? You’re going to give me a really nice Yelp review for this service?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Totally, five stars,” Peter promised as Tony filled the glass of water again, leaving it on the nightstand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>  “I’m flattered,” Tony laughed as he went to grab a bucket that Pepper had kept around for instances like this (as always planning ten steps ahead of him). “So you don’t even need to get out of bed if you need to upchuck. Luxury of the highest quality.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s in my bed, Mr. Stark,” he whined. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ll just have to live up to that five star service and empty it out for you. FRIDAY will let me know if it happens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friday? I thought it was Thursday?” Peter mumbled, dazed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, FRIDAY’s my AI, she runs the place, basically,” Tony explained to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Peter. I’m very sorry to hear you’re feeling under the weather,” the AI spoke up and Tony swore he saw Peter jump at least three inches into the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, she’s my invention, she’s safe, just monitors things around here, that’s how I knew you were sick.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter still looked uneasy about having an AI constantly monitoring him in the Tower, but on the other hand, it meant that no one was going to get in that could hurt him. “What are you feeling, kid? You want to watch some TV or try and get some more sleep?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sleep sounds good,” he sunk further into the pillows, hoping that it would soothe his body if he was surrounded by something soft. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get some rest, then,” Tony brushed the curls off Peter’s forehead as if that would help him cool down. “We’ll get someone to take a look at you in the morning.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Peter felt like he was underwater, everything was muffled when he woke again. His body was still debating about whether it would drag Peter back to sleep again, when he started to pick up a conversation above him. “You said he just threw up once?” A woman whispered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, FRIDAY woke me up,” a man (wait he knew that voice, it was Tony, right? Peter was in Tony’s tower, that made sense). “Just found him hugging the toilet, pretty out of it. Probably would have passed out there if I didn’t get him back to bed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter felt a soft hand press against his forehead, not like Tony’s which was covered with callouses, hardened by electrical burns from fiddling too fast with his tech. The hand felt cool against his forehead as he was still trying to process what was going on. “He’s still burning up. You said you gave him some fever reducing medications?” the woman tutted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, like four hours ago,” Tony went to grab the bottle to show her as Peter felt the woman rearrange his pillows, fussing with the blankets he had pushed off while sleeping. “Here,” Tony passed the bottle to her as she scanned the label. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He can’t have more for a few hours,” she reported back to him. “We’ll just have to work on cooling him down in different ways until Cho arrives. You really found him sleeping in an alley?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, scared the shit out of me when I saw the debris moving, thought it was still that Oscorp drone,” Tony explained and Peter felt his bed sink slightly to the right. “Didn’t expect to see a kid looking back at me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the mayor’s office has already been in contact about your little excursion,” Pepper sighed before coming back into the boy’s bedroom. “Try this,” she handed him a cold wash cloth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell them to bill Oscorp, they’re the ones that sent a drone to our R&amp;D department, spying on us,” Tony countered as he laid the washcloth across Peter’s forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teenager couldn’t help but let out a small whine at that. “Seems our Sleeping Beauty may have woken up,” Tony joked as he watched Peter wearily open his eyes. “How are you feeling kiddo?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thirsty,” he croaked out and Tony brought the cup of water to Peter’s lips helping the boy take sips from it. “Stomach feeling any better?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded and went to go sit up, slowly pushing himself to lean against the headboard. “Why don’t we try some breakfast then?” The strawberry blonde woman suggested that Peter’s eyes tried to focus on as soon as she started talking. “Some eggs and toast might be easy on your stomach.” Tony gave her a grateful smile as she excused herself from the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s Pepper, she’s the one whose smoothie you threw up, remember?” The man explained as he moved to sit next to Peter on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry ‘bout that, it was gross, probably still gross,” Peter mumbled feeling like he was taking advantage of the man. All Tony had done was offer Peter a place to get back on his feet, and all Peter had done in return was get sick. “I can take care of myself, you don’t have to do that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense, besides this is winning me brownie points in Pepper’s book,” Tony reassured him. “I’m having my doctor come in so she can take a look at you in a few hours,” he informed the boy. “You’ll just have to deal with me in the meantime.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re probably really busy, Mr. Stark,” he sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid, you’re not getting rid of me, we’re not going to just let you suffer here alone, so come on,” he nudged the teenager. “I’ll call you out at your school though, what’s your cover story?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re really going along with it?” Peter asked, a bit skeptical that an adult would actually be willing to lie for him, especially an Avenger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, doesn’t seem right to uproot everything when you’re sick anyway,” Tony shrugged, trying to keep the kid calm and give Tony a bit more trust. He could already tell that Peter was starting to let down his walls, by allowing Tony to rest next to him. “Come on, what’s your story?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged again, “Pretty normal I guess, I go by Peter Riley there,” he explained to the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guessing that’s not your real last name then?” Tony raised an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” he murmured fidgeting with his hands, wondering if Tony was going to press more on the subject or just let it slide. He let out a sigh of relief when Tony didn’t pry and just swiftly called Midtown and let them know that his son, Peter Riley, would not be in at school today, smoothing things over with the receptionist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There, got your perfect record maintained,” he smiled at the teenager. “And look, you’ve got some room service too,” Tony teased when he saw Pepper re-enter with a tray of scrambled eggs and toast, along with orange juice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter blushed again, “This is too much, like more than nice,” he explained to both of them as Pepper positioned the tray above his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just try and go slow on it,” she reminded him as Tony was already leaning over and grabbing a piece of toast and Pepper slapped his hand. “You can make your own breakfast, you aren’t sick,” she challenged him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, she already likes you better than me,” he laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-It’s alright, he can have some,” Peter quickly offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony claims to be a grown adult, so he doesn’t need to be stealing from a teenager’s breakfast,” Pepper countered giving the man a hard look who sighed and slid the toast back onto Peter’s plate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Started my coffee yet?” He asked, pushing himself off the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean the second pot that you aren’t supposed to have due to your heart condition?” Pepper reminded him, before rolling her eyes seeing Tony’s puppy dog face. “It’s brewing right now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you,” he leaned forward, pecking her cheek before heading out of the room, leaving Pepper and Peter alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I heard that you might be staying with us for a bit,” she gave Peter a kind small, though Peter felt his stomach flip. He had just invaded this woman’s home because her fiance thought it was a good idea to bring home a stray. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s only for a little bit,” Peter stuttered as he tried to reassure her that he would try and stay out of her way as much as possible. “And I’m at school for most of the day, and I can stay in the bedroom and be really quiet,” he rambled while Pepper cut him off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh sweetheart, you can stay here as long as you need to, it was just a little bit of a surprise this morning,” she reassured him. “Tony was panicking when I came home from my business trip,” she laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s already telling lies,” Tony accused her, coming back with a steaming mug of coffee. “I was not panicking, I was just concerned.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He kept asking FRIDAY if you were breathing; he was definitely panicking,” Pepper argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have very different definitions of it. I was just making sure I was providing adequate care, you could’ve died and Pepper wouldn’t have noticed for an hour,” Tony bickered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only difference between our definitions is that mine is right,” she snorted. “And I’ve taken care of Tony too many times that I’ve figured out that line between panic and concern.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m sorry I’m engaged to Ms. I never get sick with my superior immune system,” Tony rolled his eyes, settling down next to Peter, while Pepper was resting on his other side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Peter had to smile at their banter. He had only seen Pepper in videos in her duties as CEO of Stark Industries and it was weird to see her just so relaxed around Tony, not stiff and at a podium.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Cho’s still a few hours out, coming back from a conference in California,” Tony explained to Peter. “She’s the main lead of my medical team at the Tower,” he continued. “So we’ll need to kill some time before we can figure out what nasty illness has got you down right now. How about a movie?” He reached for the remote. “Any suggestions?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shook his head, the last time he really remembered watching TV was Barney, and somehow he felt like that wasn’t exactly interesting anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a new Star Wars movie that just came out,” Pepper suggested as she grabbed a Starkpad from the desk to catch up on some e-mails. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bet you haven’t seen that one yet,” Tony started to scroll through the movies on the TV while nudging the kid to remind him to eat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars,” he admitted to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Tony chuckled, “You haven’t lived then, we’ll start with the first, which is actually episode 4, but trust me that’s the right way to watch it,” he selected the title, dimming the lights a bit to allow Peter to rest but still bright enough for him and Pepper to work on either side of Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter couldn’t remember having a quiet moment like this before when he could just relax and allow others to take the lead in making sure he was safe. The last time must have been when his Dad was still alive. It was peaceful just to have them surrounding him, only softly murmuring to each other when they needed to double check a deadline or new product specification. It was almost like when he would stay in his parents’ bed after having a nightmare when his mother would card her fingers through his hair and his father would rub his back until he fell back to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony watched as the boy was slowly working on his breakfast having taken Pepper’s advice and not wolfed it down, even though he could tell the teenager was hungry after seeing his ribs yesterday. Instead, he took deliberate bites savoring the food while engrossed in the movie. Tony knew logically that he would need to document Peter’s condition, along with the scar he saw in case Peter did come forward with a name on who neglected him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony could tell that Peter was trying to suppress his coughs, as if he thought the fits would both the two adults. Pepper didn’t bring up the subject, simply bringing a second mug of tea for Peter halfway through the movie along with her own. He murmured his thanks to the woman, slowly sipping on it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper met Tony’s eyes as Peter was focused on the movie and he caught her line of thinking. For a kid who seemed like he had a difficult past, he was an incredibly polite and quiet child. He almost started to wonder about how his and Pepper’s kid would be like and how it would be the opposite of this teenager, loud and boasting their opinions about everything. But it didn’t mean that he couldn’t admire Peter’s more subdued nature, seeing how his actions were quiet and deliberate. He only wondered if it would stay the same as the boy started to open up to them more (if he continued to do so). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Boss, Dr. Cho’s in the lobby, where did you want her to meet you?” The AI spoke up, halfway through the second movie and Pepper watched as Peter almost stiffened at the sound of the AI, but wasn’t sure what had spooked the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell her that she can head up to the penthouse,” Tony quickly replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can go down to the medical wing,” Peter made to move from the bed before falling into another one of his coughing fits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy there wheezy, you have to have a temperature under 100 before you leave the room,” Tony teased him gently. “And you’re still burning up. You’re practically a radiator between Pepper and me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to apologize, saving me some money on heating,” he helped Peter readjust in bed and sit up.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also probably getting you guys sick,” he ducked his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, didn’t you hear me saying that Pepper has an immune system of steel,” he comforted the boy. “And I could use some more germs to build mine up, I mean how can I save the world if I’m getting bogged down by the sniffles every week, yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged again, feeling rather like a burden on both of them. He looked up when he heard a knock on the bedroom door and a woman entered carrying a small medical bag and wearing a white coat, “So this is Peter then?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup, resident sick teenager,” Tony replied while Pepper moved out of the way giving her easier access to Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Dr. Cho,” she introduced holding out her hand to the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to meet you,” he replied, shaking her hand still a bit nervous about being around doctors, but with Tony and Pepper nearby, it reassured him that she wouldn’t try anything unethical. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can already tell that he’s going to be a better patient than you Tony by the distinct lack of complaining,” she tried to break the ice before starting to take the teenager’s temperature and assess what was really wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He had one bout of vomiting about five hours ago,” Pepper reported to the woman, rubbing Tony’s shoulders to keep him calm. “Tony gave him some Advil afterwards to try and help with his temperature, but it doesn’t seem like it had much of an effect,” she explained. “He’s been able to keep down breakfast this morning though,” she added as Dr. Cho started to take Peter’s blood pressure and record his vitals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So some vomiting, fever, cough, any other symptoms, Peter?” She asked the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda tired and just feel gross,” he reported back as she started to listen to his breathing, coaxing him to try and take deep breaths. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it seems like most of your symptoms align with the flu,” she reported back to the trio. “Might be a bit late for any anti-viral drugs, but we can up his Advil dose and see if that helps with his fever,” she advised the adults. “I’m a bit worried about his cough though,” she told them, still listening to his lungs. “It might be something on top of the flu, how long have you had it?” She asked the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Few weeks, just when it started getting colder,” he admitted to her while Tony furrowed his eyebrows as Peter talked about his illness like it was no big deal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to make sure it’s not bronchitis or pneumonia, something more serious like that,” she explained. “A simple blood test should be able to tell us that and I’ll be able to look at his iron levels too,” she added, taking Peter’s right arm to start tying it off as he scrambled back away from her, nearly knocking Tony off the bed in the process. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to do that,” he quickly shook his head, tucking his arms against his chest so she couldn’t grab them easily again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, it’s just a little bit of blood, you don’t even have to watch her take it,” Tony tried to coax the boy remembering how he said he didn’t like needles the night before. The teenager shook his head again, continuing to move away from the adults in the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the most effective way to figure out if something is wrong,” Dr. Cho added having encountered some patients like Peter before that weren’t fond of getting their blood drawn. “It can cover a variety of tests just from one small blood sample.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to do the blood test,” Peter blurted out again to the adults, inching towards the backpack as if anticipating if he needed to run. Sure it might be a bit difficult escaping from the Tower, but he was quick. He couldn’t let them get his blood; he knew it would come back abnormal and then what? They’d figure out he wasn’t fully human and lock him up? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper eye’s carefully trailed Peter and saw that he was itching to run as Tony and Cho were trying to convince him to comply. “Helen,” she spoke up. “Is there another way we could test for those infections?” She asked, trying to get everyone to calm down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused for a moment thinking about it, “I could do a chest x-ray for the bronchitis and pneumonia, but it wouldn’t test for other infections,” she explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about we start with that and see if it turns up anything? If Peter isn’t getting any better then, we can revisit this conversation,” she smoothed over and saw Peter’s shoulders relax. Helen didn’t look exactly happy to be overruled like this, but she supposed that it would be a necessary compromise for today. “Would that be alright with you, Peter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am,” the teenager replied. “Sorry for elbowing you,” he apologized to Tony realizing that he had hit him in his haste to get away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright kid,” Tony sighed running a hand through his hair, a bit worried by Peter’s extreme reaction. Until that point, he thought things were going to be pretty smooth sailing between the three of them. Surely this couldn’t just be a normal reaction to a phobia? So what had exactly caused it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get your x-ray sorted out, and then maybe some soup for lunch?” Pepper suggested helping Peter out of the bed to head down to the medical bay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the test results came back, Tony felt vindicated for his push towards testing as it turned out that on top of the flu diagnosis, Peter had a mild case of pneumonia, which could have turned worse if they didn’t start treating it so quickly. Even when Peter shied away from him at first, upset about how Tony had been pushing the blood test, it was worth it because Peter was getting the care that he needed. When he had offered a place for Peter to stay, Tony hadn’t expected much of it. He had figured he would feed the kid up, get him some medicine, and then if the kid wanted to move out, buy him an apartment so he didn’t need to worry about rent. But over the next few days as Peter was slowly letting his body heal (medicine didn’t seem to really have much of an effect on the teenager who claimed he just had a high tolerance), Tony felt more and more drawn to just check in on the kid throughout the day. At first, he had gone back to one word answers from Peter, but Tony was nothing if not persistently annoying so gradually the kid started to warm up to him again, especially as he was showing Peter that Tony could be trusted. He kept up with the cover story at school and the distinct lack of social workers coming to visit him made him much more convinced that Tony wouldn’t go back on his word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>During his recovery, Peter started working on his schoolwork from the Penthouse, and Tony realized just how smart this kid was. He would plow through his science and math, figuring out shortcuts before he really recognized what he had done. Tony was impressed and informed Peter of the such (who brushed it off and said that he just got things quicker, didn’t make him smarter). But  he could see Pepper’s eyes light up when Tony pointed out this development and casually mentioned giving Peter an internship once he got over the flu (it wouldn’t be right to let him work for some second rate company like Hammer Industries Pepper insisted).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The subject that he struggled with the most was history, but seeing as Pepper had been a triple major in college (economics, psychology, and art history), he had more than enough support on the gaps that he claimed were giving him trouble. Even Happy was starting to warm up to the kid, stopping by with dinner for the four of them on occasion, observing how the teenager was growing more confident at poking fun at Tony (something the man really needed to keep him grounded).   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A week later, his coughing fits had faded and his fever had disappeared for two days which meant that he had been cleared to go back to school the following Monday. He was slowly watching as the teenager was starting to gain some the weight he needed in order to get back to normal after pressing second and third helpings onto the boy during meals and dropping snacks off at his room every other hour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony was starting to figure out that Peter didn’t know how to ask for things that were needed to meet his basic necessities. He never went into the kitchen on his own which is how Tony came up with the system of just dropping food off at Peter’s room (some of his protests began to die down when he realized he couldn’t stop Tony). The man realized that Peter only had two outfits when the teenager had worn the same t-shirt three days in a row. This prompted both Tony and Pepper to practically bully Peter into picking out clothes for him to order (only after Tony figured out how to hide the prices from the teenager after he kept bringing up how expensive this was turning out to be every two minutes). So when he saw Peter bush back his bangs out of his eyes for the third time in the past five minutes while he was working on finishing an English essay in the living room, he spoke up, “Peter, do you need a haircut?” He asked the kid bluntly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine, Mr. Stark,” he quickly brushed it off (part of the normal dance they played when Peter thought he was inconveniencing Tony, but the plates of snacks were always returned empty and Peter had taken to his new collection of sweaters).  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure? They look like they’re kinda bugging you, must be hard to see at school with them,” he added. “Though they do fit with the whole sulky teenager vibe,” he teased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not my vibe,” Peter protested from the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is 100% your vibe,” Tony countered. “I know, because I was a model sulky teenager.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter glared at Tony though there was no real ice behind it. “I like my curls,” he finally settled on setting the tablet to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well yeah, but you don’t need to look quite so, well, homeless,” he held up his hands in defense when Pepper gave him an outraged look from where she had been cleaning up their dinner in the kitchen. “It’s an accurate descriptor, no offense kid, besides I thought your cover story was that you weren’t homeless,” Tony quickly backtracked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The people who used to take care of me,” Peter hesitated biting his lip. “When they thought my hair was too long, they would just buzz it down, I like it longer,” he quietly explained to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was a new development that had happened this week, when Peter felt like he needed to explain why he didn’t like something or acted odd, he talked about the “people who used to take care of him”. All Pepper and Tony knew about them was that one, they weren’t Peter’s parents, who he sometimes let a detail slip about them, and two, that Peter didn’t like them very much. Pepper and Tony swapped theories about who they could be behind closed doors, Pepper thinking that it had been a rough foster care situation while Tony thinking that it had been some sort of gang. But they didn’t press because they could tell that Peter was starting to open up to them. He just needed to take his time in doing so, but they were on the right track.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well Peter, it doesn’t mean that it needs to be super short then,” Pepper reasoned softly from the kitchen. “I can give you a trim so it’s just a bit neater and out of your eyes,” she offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good deal kid,” Tony promised to reassure the kid who thought about it for a moment before nodding and following Pepper into her bathroom as she brought a chair over for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I used to do this for some of the kids on my college floor for some extra money, so I’m not going into this completely blind,” she reassured him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess if it turns out horrible, I can at least say Pepper Potts did it and it would be cool,” he smiled as Pepper shook her head. Sometimes Peter could have a bit of sass, and was not afraid to talk back to them, as if he had forgotten to be so guarded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lean back, sweetheart,” she started to gently wash his hair, trying to get the boy to relax before he headed back to school tomorrow, since she remembered that kids could sometimes be vultures. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter seemed like the perfect kid to get picked on too: small, quiet, and smart. Peter hummed in response enjoying the gentle nature of Pepper’s fingers. After a few minutes, he hesitantly voiced his thoughts, “Ms. Potts? Can I ask a dumb question?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bet it’s not an actual dumb question,” she gently reminded him as she went to rinse and dry off his hair before trying to comb it out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, I just don’t know,” he chewed on his lip. “This is Avengers Tower, right? But I haven’t seen any Avengers here,” he tried to explain his line of reasoning. “Or even Mr. Stark talk about them. I just was curious,” he fiddled with his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper sighed, “I suppose keeping up with the news hasn’t quite been a priority of yours these past few months,” she started. “Which is understandable of course, but you ought to know before it becomes an elephant in the room,” she picked up her shears and started to trim the ends of his curls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did something happen?” He asked her nervously. Was there some sort of attack that had wiped out all the Avengers except for Mr. Stark? His stomach flipped at the thought of something that powerful making that happen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Things had been stewing for a long time I supposed,” Pepper explained to the boy, glad that he had come to her about these questions, rather than Tony, for whom the wounds were too fresh still. “But some of the Avengers started getting more and more involved in different missions across the world, trying to maintain international peace, but oftentimes they went in without much of a plan and innocent people started getting hurt. Tony was mainly on the sidelines, just supporting the tech side of things, and he got stuck with a lot of the cleanup of those missions, both financially and emotionally,” she continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That must’ve been really hard for Mr. Stark,” Peter commented as he brushed off one of </span>
  <span>his fallen ringlets from his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was, he was under a tremendous amount of pressure, and he just kept throwing himself into his work trying to fix everything, but he’s just one man,” Pepper had felt the strain that pressure had caused on their relationship which is why she had suggested a break for them, but she never could have predicted that it would have gotten so bad so quickly. “And so a lot of countries felt it was appropriate to have a set of protocols for the Avengers to follow in order to try and minimize the damage. Some of the Avengers didn’t agree with that though, they didn’t trust politicians, so there was a fight,” Pepper explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like a physical one?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly, Tony, who was in favor of signing and having some sort of regulations because he had seen what had happened to his company when he had given it no oversight when he was younger, and Steve, who you probably know as Captain America, was on the other side, and it got bad, Rhodey, Tony’s best friend was paralyzed in it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter swallowed a lump in his throat. He had heard Tony tell him many stories about Rhodey, but hadn’t mentioned how seriously injured the man had gotten, “But I thought the Avengers were supposed to be the good guys?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper sighed again, “I’m afraid that most things aren’t so black and white. What made matters worse was that in the middle of this Tony found out that his parents who he thought had died in a car crash, didn’t exactly die like that, but instead were murdered by someone Steve was protecting at the time, Bucky Barnes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Winter Soldier,” Peter breathed out, hoping that Pepper didn’t notice how pale he had gone or how he had to clench his hands to keep them from shaking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’ve heard about him?” </span>
</p><p><span><br/></span> <span>“Yeah,” Peter tried to brush it off, “Some of the kids at my school were talking about him.” He figured it would be a probably solid cover, not at all betraying how he actually had heard about him. How Bucky had been used as a threat to keep Peter in line as he trained and went on missions. Of course he had never met the man (they were in two completely separate branches of Hydra), but his handler had made it quite clear that if Peter started to disobey, they would implant trigger words into his mind. He had heard about how the man had forgotten everything about his past in the process. The fear of losing his last memories about his family was a powerful reason to comply. When Peter ran, he knew he only had one shot which is why he had been so careful in the past months.          </span></p><p>
  <span>“Tony had a rough relationship with his Dad, but adored his Mom and to hear they had been murdered by this horrible organization, it was more than upsetting. And Steve had known that Hydra had killed Tony’s parents for quite a while and kept it a secret,” Pepper continued not picking up the boy’s reaction. “So they got into another fight. Tony got hurt, and the Avengers went their separate ways,” she tutted trimming the back of his head. “It hurt him to lose his family like that, because that’s what they were to him, especially since Tony lost his own when he was young.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shifted in his seat feeling a wave of shame wash over him. Tony had lost so much to Hydra and had been working for over five years to weaken it. And here he was, a Hydra experiment, who was being housed and taken care of by Tony even though he in no way deserved it. Especially when he hadn’t been willing to tell Tony the truth because he was being selfish and had lucked himself into a good situation. But he felt it was too late to come clean now. All it would do would hurt Tony even more. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories,” he whispered to Pepper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sweetheart, it’s alright,” she said, finishing things off by dusting off his neck. “It really has hurt Tony worse than anything I’ve seen since he’s come back from Afghanistan,” she explained. “But having you here, letting him take care of you, it’s given him something to focus on and a reason to take care of himself,” she spoke softly. “He’s actually trying to sleep most nights so that he can be awake and check on you during the day, eating regular meals.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She crouched in front of him, “I know this may seem overwhelming to you right now, Tony’s generosity at times can be a lot to handle at first. But this isn’t just a one way street, you’re helping Tony heal too, even if he’s too stubborn to admit it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” Peter nodded to her. It made sense to him and he could be a distraction if Mr. Stark needed one. To do that though, he would need to keep up this lie. He couldn’t tell Mr. Stark about Hydra. Peter was determined not to hurt anyone else anymore.   </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whoops I did it again, and this chapter turned out to be longer than the last two (I'll have to curb this trend at one point or it will get unruly)! Aiming for another update mid to late next week just so I don't lose steam on this! Thanks again for reading and let me know what you think! Also my tumblr is armyofbooksin221b if anyone wants a lot of marvel/ cat content on their feed or to yell at me about this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Peter started going back to school, living at the Tower started to feel a bit normal, though his routine shifted drastically. Instead of sneaking into school as soon as the doors were unlocked to take a rare shower alone in the gym’s bathrooms, he took a 15 minute shower controlled by FRIDAY who seemed to sense what the perfect temperature was for Peter. He usually ate with Pepper in the morning as he only saw Tony when he was running out the door for school (and the man only usually acknowledged his presence with a grunt a small wave). According to Pepper, despite her best efforts, he was not a morning person.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until recently, he had still been walking (or running when he was late) to school. However, one morning when he was particularly late, Tony claimed he saw Peter completely wipe out on some black ice in front of the Tower. Peter didn’t know how that was physically possible when Tony was up in the penthouse, to which he replied simply, “I’m always watching,” sending a shiver down Peter’s spine. While that had been the last straw (FRIDAY had tattled on him), Tony had been watching the kid for the week when he came back to the Tower, his face still flushed from the cold an hour later which had concerned the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So now Happy had started to drive Peter to school (at least until the weather warmed up and Peter had less of a chance to re-concuss himself Tony claimed). Peter always felt like he was a burden on the man, especially when the man would yell at rush hour traffic. If he hadn’t had to drive Peter during the peak hours, he might have more relaxing mornings, so Peter tried to cheer him up as much as he could during these trips, trying a new joke on Happy each morning to see if he could get him to laugh or smile, but so far no such luck. Happy would also be there when his school let out, the heated seats welcoming him from the cold of the school yard when he pulled up. It was different from trudging the eight blocks to the nearest library to hang out in until it closed for the night.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy had brought up his concerns to Tony that whenever he picked Peter up, the boy was always alone in the school yard, lingering on his own on the steps, not milling with a small group of teens, huddling close for warmth and giggling with each other. He almost always saw the kid with his nose shoved in a different book. While Tony was also concerned about this observation, he worried he would make things worse by interrogating Peter about why he didn’t have any friends. Once Peter started to get better, he realized how talkative a kid the teenager could be asking question after question about the specifications of new products that the man was working on as if he was trying to absorb a degree in electrical engineering in the past week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Peter’s last chest x-ray finally came back clear showing that the pneumonia had cleared out of his system, with Pepper staying late at the office due to weird time zones and a meeting that she couldn’t miss, Tony had ordered takeout for the two to break the news, “So you’re paperwork went through today,” he stated casually. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What paperwork?” Peter asked,confused, Lo Mein noodles still sticking out of his mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try swallowing first,” Tony couldn’t help but laugh at the teenager’s expression, cheeks stuffed with food as he was inhaling his second box of takeout. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter took his time swallowing the noodles using the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, “What paperwork?” Peter started fiddling with his hands fearing the worst. Had Tony gone behind his back and gotten him into the foster system? Was the takeout his way of saying that this had been nice but they needed to part ways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, it’s good,” Tony quickly reassured, starting to pick up on some of Peter’s nervous ticks that could be triggered easily over the past two weeks. He still couldn’t predict when it would happen (like when Tony had suggested that they take a helicopter tour of the city for fun and the teenager didn’t want to be impolite and decline that he had made his thumb bleed from picking at the skin around the fingernails as they walked up to the helicopter pad). But at least Tony was starting to react when these incidents happened and figured out that Peter liked quick reassurance to help take the immediate edge off things, then giving the teenager a few moments to breathe and changing the subject. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The internship, remember?” He asked the boy when he saw his breathing get under control again. Peter’s brows furrowed, shaking his head. “The first night, I mentioned it in the car, when you were telling me about your Midtown grades?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were being serious?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah kid, why else would I have brought it up?” Tony laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To get me to trust you and stay,” he shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were already in the warm car, I thought you had already chosen to trust me and stay,” Tony reminded him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still needed to see how good the deal would be, could’ve sneaked out at night,” Peter teased, his mood starting to bounce back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you couldn’t have,” FRIDAY interjected and Peter scowled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we were friends, FRIDAY,” he called back up to the AI. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Peter, boss installed a babysitting protocol when you came home with him,” the AI countered and Peter’s jaw dropped while Tony held up his hands in defense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Snitches get stitches, FRIDAY,” Tony informed the AI. “Besides, I was just making sure that you didn’t die, remember? Anyway, we’re getting off topic, the internship. Since you now have a clear bill of health, I’m letting you start,” he explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what exactly does the internship entail?” He asked Tony curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My personal intern, don’t take on many of those, kid,” he gave the teenager a smile, hoping that this would be a good opportunity to nurture his talent and help him continue to heal, give him a real future to focus on. “And it won’t just be coffee runs,” he promised. “Though that will be nice to have you around for. But it’ll be working on new products with me, maybe sometimes shadowing Pepper if you’re interested in seeing the business side of a tech company,” he suggested. “But yeah, working with me in the lab,” he took a sip of his soda. “Oh yeah and it’s paid,” he added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, you really don’t have to do that, I mean, you and Ms. Potts are letting me stay here, buying me all this food, and clothes, the least I could do for you guys is some free labor to make up for it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what your chores are for, this is separate,” Tony quickly waved off his protests, pulling out a SI folder with the details regarding the internship and compensation. “You would be paid at a similar level to other high school interns so it’s not like Pepper and I are favoring you.” He let Peter start to flip through the folder. “We can’t legally pay you until you’re 14 apparently, so until then what we would pay you, we’ll put it in an educational fund that you can access when you’re 18 for college,” Tony watched Peter’s eyes widen as he realized what his salary would be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I didn’t even apply for this,” he tried to explain his reasoning to Tony. “There has to be at least a hundred kids that are more qualified than me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you call what you’ve been doing for the past two weeks when you ask me about new products and suggest improvements?” Tony countered raising an eyebrow at him. “Sure, it may have been an unconventional application process, but you haven’t heard Pepper crowing about the new intern that we’re getting that can actually keep up with me,” he watched Peter blush. “Take the packet, read it over tonight, do some research, if you have a counter offer in terms of salary, then we can negotiate. And counter offer doesn’t mean you can go lower,” he quickly caught the glint in Peter’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want me to ask for more money than this?” Peter squeaked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, college is expensive,” Tony defended his guidance. “But seeing as you would be </span>
</p><p>
  <span>crazy not to accept this, we can worry about money later,” he reassured Peter. “You want to see the lab now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Peter’s eyes lit up as he almost stumbled over himself as he pushed himself to stand up. He had heard Tony talk about his lab, but hadn’t been invited down to see it quite yet. He was starting to get tired of Pepper and Tony reminding him that he needed to rest. Peter had gotten tired of resting about the third day in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony waved Peter to follow him, directing the elevator down to his personal lab floor. Of course, Tony had multiple labs around this building, but this one was by far his favorite, housing the Iron Man suits, only allowing a select few to enter it. “Give us the grand entrance, FRIDAY,” he instructed the AI. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, the floor lit up, illuminating each version of the Iron Man suit that Tony kept on hand just for emergencies (though Pepper had stressed that he was only allowed a maximum of 10 suits so he had to think carefully about which features were critical). Tony kept his various soldering tools tucked neatly away in clear cabinets so that they were easy to grab as needed. Various holographic stations were scattered around the room as if Tony could still work when he paced the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing that Peter had noticed about the room though was the color scheme had carried over from the penthouse. The lab was defined by its dark colors and sleek metal and glass that you wouldn’t find in a traditional lab. It aligned more with the man’s personal tastes. But then the display of suits caught Peter’s eyes and he gasped, looking at them up close for the first time, picking up the differences between the designs immediately. “Which one is your favorite?” The question spilled out of the teenager before he even realized it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t really have a favorite,” he admitted to Peter. “I guess you could say my favorite is whatever is the next model. Don’t want to get stuck in the past and complacent, there’s always a way to improve it.” He wondered for a moment what it was like to be Peter, to grow up in an age surrounded by superheroes and gods. After New York, the whole world had shifted and the kid couldn’t have been more than ten or so. Had he been in New York when the wormhole opened up? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you trying to improve it now?” Peter asked curiously, tearing his eyes away from the suits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s always a lag time in getting a suit when I need it,” Tony described to the boy. “Sometimes that lag time can be more dangerous for my comfort, so the best way to avoid that delay is to have it on me at all times, but it’s not quite comfortable to wear,” he smirked. “Besides Pepper would have a fit. So I’m working on this,” he gestured to one of the tables that had a prototype of the Iron Man gauntlet building and retracting itself over a model arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, nanites,” Peter reached out instinctively to touch and explore it. However with the slightest touch, the gauntlet collapsed in on itself. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to break it,” he rushed out, taking a step back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault kid, you’ve identified the main problem with them. They’re still learning how to hold themselves together and retract when needed,” Tony explained pointing to how they were trying to build themselves up again. “Still got a ways to go. But maybe you can help me work out some of the kinks of them,” Tony offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll let me work on the suit?” He stuttered out, face beaming as he looked up at Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Among other things, yes,” Tony confirmed feeling his heart swell a bit when he saw how</span>
</p><p>
  <span>excited Peter truly was about this opportunity. Tony hadn’t had a partner to really work on these projects before. He had never taken on a personal intern for more than a week. Really the only time he had a tech partner was with Rhodey in college or Bruce for a bit (but that didn’t turn out spectacularly). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But hearing Peter ramble about processors started to remind him of his pure love and curiosity for technology that had been distorted once Obie started funneling his creativity into projects that would make the company the most money. Once he took back the reins and then Pepper came in, he had gained back some of that curiosity but it was never really the same.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And here is your station,” Tony pointed out to Peter walking him over to the side of the lab. He figured if this was going to be a true internship, the teenager needed some space where he could show a bit more independence and work on projects that interested him in addition to completing work for Tony. “You’ll get your own spot on the server to store different designs in addition to the work that I’ll assign to you. You’re welcome to work on non-internship stuff outside the normal hours, just don’t go blowing things up or touching things that you aren’t supposed to,” Tony rambled on. “Use your common sense, I know it’s in there somewhere,” he snorted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, this is amazing,” he said, trying to experiment with the hologram board on his desk, figuring out how it worked. “What if I need different stuff for the experiments?” He asked curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“FRIDAY keeps a list of the stock of materials we have in R&amp;D, if it’s not there, she can go and order it for you, just don’t go crazy and buy a shit ton of gold or something,” he smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I didn’t mean that,” he quickly reassured Tony. “I just, um, like chemistry in addition to engineering too. I know that’s not really your thing,” Peter tried to explain. “But I think I like taking a little bit from every discipline,” he tried to explain nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The internship is not supposed to be all about me, it’s supposed to help figure out what you want too,” Tony reasoned with him. “You don’t need to be a complete carbon copy of me, though it would be a shame since I’m the pinnacle of perfection,” he joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right, I saw you mixed up the sugar with salt for your coffee this morning,” Peter countered with a small smile, happy about being given a certain amount of freedom in the lab. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because Pepper put them in containers that look the same,” Tony whined and Peter snorted shaking his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So come on, tell me what you want to do with all your chemistry stuff. What’s this brilliant idea of?” Tony prompted and Peter hesitated. How was he supposed to explain that he wanted to work on a new formula for the web fluid for his web shooters? I mean it was a rather unconventional weapon, one that rarely hurt anyone and got its idea from nature. Peter was sure he had been only allowed to fiddle with it since it amused his superiors. They had tested if Peter could make his own webs for six months to no avail, which is how Peter first got the idea. And it was certainly better than using a gun or a knife, because it rarely hurt anyone, just incapacitated them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But still, Tony might be suspicious about why Peter felt the need to create the web shooters in the first place. He only wore them when he was going out of the Tower now. Since his first prototype that he had made when he was nine, he had slimmed down the design so they were no longer bulky, made out of scrap metal that he practically had to beg for. Instead the discreetly fit on his wrists, but the web fluid contained had been empty for months now, dried up with the last of his supply. He needed to restock in order to truly feel safe when he was out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter yelped when he felt a metal claw tug on his flannel shirt and pull him out of his musings. “Hey, no, play nice,” Tony quickly scolded as Peter turned around and saw a metal claw facing off against him, opening and closing itself and tilting its head as if it was observing Peter. “Sorry about that DUM-E can be a bit possessive at times,” he apologized for the robot. “Likes to vet all the new people that come in here, but he can be a bit of a bully too, I swear I once saw him push U into a wall. No bullying the new kid, or you’ll get into time out,” he threatened. The bot beeped sadly rolling away from the pair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare,” Tony warned, seeing U approach them with a fire extinguisher. “The bots are a little overexcited tonight, let’s get you some desert and then you can finish up your homework, alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded thankful for the robots’ intervention as Tony seemed to have completely lost his train of thought. He wouldn’t lie about it if Tony directly asked what he was working on, but maybe he didn’t need to work on it while Tony was around.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two weeks later, Peter had started to get into a rhythm with his internship. The only part that he negotiated with Tony on was a letter of recommendation at the end of the internship in addition to the pay (which Tony had agreed upon on the condition that Peter didn’t blow anything up in the lab, at least unintentionally). On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school, he would stop at the lab (usually with Tony’s coffee order that he texted him and changed on a daily basis to keep him on his toes). They would work for two or three hours before dinner and then the rest of the night was reserved for Peter’s homework and the occasional movie marathon. Tony had realized that Peter didn’t get to watch a lot of movies growing up so he was using this time to catch him up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There he is,” Tony called out when he saw the teenager step out of the elevator, a few snowflakes caught in his hair. “Got my order?” He asked the kid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shelby from the coffee cart in the lobby wanted me to remind you that three espresso shots at 4 in the afternoon is hardly the healthy example that you should be setting with me,” he reported, dropping his backpack to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, she’s switching up her tactics and trying guilt now,” Tony made grabby hands for the coffee and the boy sighed passing it over. “You’re supposed to be my Shelby buffer though, you’re not supposed to tell me those comments.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss Potts says I have to tell you them, because she’s worried about your heart and she pays my internship stipend,” he told Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Traitor,” he murmured before pushing open the doors for the lab. “Got a surprise for you today.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” He asked curiously as Tony gestured to the man sitting in the lab, who gave him a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re War Machine,” Peter stumbled out when he realized who was sitting in front of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I am, but you can call me James,” The man offered him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Tony snorted. “Kid’s got this whole thing going for him, calling everyone Mister and Ms.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By whole thing, do you mean manners?” Rhodey challenged raising an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s the one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah yes, the thing that you came surprisingly without despite your mother’s best efforts,” he teased back. “Couldn’t have gotten me coffee too?” He asked Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, he’s my intern, you get your own to get your coffee.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I-I can go and get some,” Peter quickly offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I’m just playing with you, it’s Peter, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir,” the teenager gave a decisive nod. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And on one to ten, just how annoying a boss is Tony, you can tell me honestly, forget he’s even there,” Rhodey waved Tony off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s great,” Peter rushed to reassure both the men. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop harassing my intern,” Tony glared at Rhodey, “Especially since he’s helping me out with your braces today. Kid, get over here, need a fresh set of eyes,” he waved Peter over who hurried over to the table that Rhodey was sitting at and the braces were right in front of him. He remembered Pepper mentioning that Rhodey had gotten paralyzed in the Avengers fight, but he didn’t realize how serious it truly was until he saw the full brace unit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They keep locking up, especially if I don’t take the time to maintain the joints of them,” Rhodey explained to Peter. “But as you might expect, I don’t have much free time. Especially with this one hiding away in his lab all the time,” he pointed towards Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a national treasure,” Tony defended himself. “And therefore will only be used in true emergencies. You’re just someone in a suit,” he waved off as he watched Peter start to examine the braces. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s got to be the joints right,” he mumbled to himself as he looked closer, testing them out and seeing how the screws were angled and how they interacted with the metal of the brace. Peter kept testing it out and Tony couldn’t help but look proudly at Peter’s meticulous examination of the device. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got any ideas?” Tony prompted as he was finished with almost half of his drink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It might not work,” he murmured furrowing his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely won’t work if you don’t tell us,” Rhodey encouraged him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you’ve got it set up so it’s a simple joint, but the body isn’t that simple though. There’s micro-movements that are being stifled in this design and his legs want to act naturally but the brace will only let it go in the stiff pattern,” he rambled. “What if we used the nanites that we stabilized? You said that they’re supposed to learn, well couldn’t they learn about how the body moves and how weight is distributed and then get smarter and adapt to it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up when he ended his ramble realizing that none of the adults really had said anything in response so he quickly started to back track, “I mean it’s not - “</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit, this kid is smarter than you,” Rhodey declared, and Peter immediately blushed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean it’s just an idea,” he started before Rhodey cut him off with a laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony was talking about fiddling with the angles of the screws before you came here but no, you want to revolutionize the whole design. The kid’s outpacing you, Tony.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even know if it would work,” Peter continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think that he had any idea that his suit was even going to work when he launched himself out of that cave?” Rhodey pressed Peter. “I can see why you picked him,” he nodded towards Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s give it a try at least,” Tony agreed, impressed by Peter’s solution. “We’re running low on silicon for the nanites, think you can run down to the R&amp;D department and pick some more up for me?” The man questioned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Peter quickly moved off the bench. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know where it is?” Tony checked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I remember you showed me on the first day where all the supplies were.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter raced over to the elevator, a certain bounce in his step and a grin on his face. Tony gave out compliments to Peter like candy, which were always welcomed, but there was always a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that Tony was just saying that to be nice to Peter since he found him to be homeless. But to have stranger to him compliment his work and ideas (another MIT graduate to boot too!), made his chest swell and he held his head up higher as he entered the R&amp;D department. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t met many of the people there yet, still shy and worried about what they would think about a kid being Tony Stark’s personal intern. He didn’t want to cause any fights with any of them, but he greeted Julie who was the high school internship coordinator on the way to the supply room. Once inside, he pulled a box over to use as a step stool as he reached for the raw silicon they used as a base for the nanites. Making sure his feet were firmly planted to the box, using a bit of his sticky ability, he started gathering the material to bring back up to the lab in a plastic bin and headed out of the supply closet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as he crossed the threshold, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up and his stomach plummet. These past few weeks had been so relaxing in the Tower, and he finally had gotten the near constant buzzing to die down. He was somewhere safe, so why would it flare up again as he scanned the room? Finally, he caught the sight of a man in a lab coat, and Peter immediately ducked when he recognized him, hoping the man hadn’t seen him too.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why do I have to get stuck with the brat?” Peter looked up as the man growled as his handler as they were driving into the city. The ten year old knew that none of the agents really liked working with him, seeing the boy as beneath him. But he couldn’t pipe up that he didn’t want to be on the mission either. He wanted to be back in his room, working on a new design for his web shooters, since these were irritating his wrists under the dress shirt he had been made to wear. Peter tried to keep his eyes lowered as he scratched as his wrists absentmindedly. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Because he’s the only way you’re going to get into the police precinct. No one can say no to a lost kid. They’ll be too distracted by him that no one will notice you wiping the evidence,” Peter’s handler replied. “And you’ll need his powers to disable the surveillance system,” he continued. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The freak better not mess up his part then,” the man snapped at him, gripping the boy’s shoulder, squeezing it to remind him of the consequences if he were to make a mistake.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Peter quickly mumbled, “Yes, sir.” </span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Why would a Hydra agent be here? Had they found that he was living with Tony now? Then why didn’t they approach him when he was at school? It was easy enough to follow Happy from the Tower to Midtown and stage an attack on the high school to get him back instead of trying to kidnap him from an AI controlled Tower. He dared a glance around the corner and saw him joking with Julie. He focused on the man’s heartbeat to figure out if he was coming closer to Peter, but he stayed across the room with the woman. Maybe he wasn’t here for Peter, maybe he was here for Tony? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man rarely left the Tower these days so it minimized a window of opportunity to get to him. His heart plummeted further at the thought of Tony being attacked by Hydra, beaten over and over again for any information he could provide them, then killed when his utility had run out. He felt bile rise in his throat the more he thought about it. He couldn’t let Tony get hurt again. Hydra had already taken so much from his life. And in return, he was still an incredibly brave and generous man, a true hero. Tony deserved better than getting hurt by them again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced around the corner again when he heard the heartbeat fade and saw that the man had walked into one of the other labs, so Peter needed to make his move right now. He rushed back to the elevator, keeping his head down to try and avoid being overseen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frantically, he pressed the buttons that would take him back up to Tony’s lab. His hands were shaking as he was trying to figure out what he needed to do. Peter couldn’t let the Hydra agent continue to pose undercover in the lab, potentially undermining FRIDAY’s security, having access to their servers. But why would Tony believe him that there was a Hydra agent that had somehow wheedled his way into the highest level of the SI R&amp;D department? Peter couldn’t think that he could avoid telling Tony the truth, even if it meant that he got kicked out or arrested and never saw Tony again. Peter had left Hydra because he didn’t want to hurt others anymore. Keeping this secret from Tony was now potentially hurting, or worse, killing him. He couldn’t allow that to happen, he decided as he stepped off the elevator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to control his breathing as he approached the lab doors, but thinking about the consequences after he told Tony the truth made it impossible to stop his hands from shaking or tears pooling in his eyes. He thought that he finally had a home here, a weird kinda family with Tony and Pepper and occasionally Happy, but now the Parker luck had struck again and it was all going to be taken away from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got the silicon kid?” Tony asked barely looking up as he heard the lab doors open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M-Mr. Stark,” Peter’s voice cracked. “I think I really messed up,” he whispered, defeated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tone of Peter’s voice caught Tony’s attention immediately. He had never seen the kid cry, not when he dropped concrete debris on him bursting through a wall or when he was throwing up at 3 in the morning. But he could tell just from the choked tone of his voice that Peter was close to tears. “Kid, it’s fine if you forgot where the silicon was, we can do another tour of the R&amp;D department,” he said moving closer to the teenager who was still lingering in the door frame while Rhodey sat up straighter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s not something stupid like that,” he wiped his eyes quickly, trying to steel himself and break the news. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it someone in the R&amp;D department? Did they say something?” Tony asked, slowly approaching the boy so as not to spook him. Pepper had warned that there may be some push-back from the other interns with Tony hiring someone so young to be his personal intern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head again, “I-” his voice cracked. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Stark, I didn’t know how to tell you and you were being so nice to me and that hadn’t happened for a while and I know it was selfish but then I got sick and then it got too late,” he rambled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid, I’m going to need you to be straight with me here, because I’m not following,” Tony said, trying to coax the answer out of him. What could have gotten the boy so scared to tell Tony?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter took a deep breath reminding himself that this was Tony’s safety that was endangered, protecting it was the most important thing, “I saw someone down in R&amp;D that I recognized,” he couldn’t meet Tony’s eyes even though he felt the man’s gaze focused on him. “Someone that I knew from my past,” he explained. He took one more breath before admitting, “He’s a Hydra agent, and I know him because I was one too.”  </span>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was the hardest chapter to write so far (since I knew where I was going but not entirely sure how to get there) and I may not be 100% happy with how it turned out, but I really wanted to give you guys and update and I promise the next one won't be that long to wait for!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re a what now?” Rhodey was the first one to break the silence after Peter’s confession, reaching for his leg braces with one hand and his gun with the other. </p><p>“Stand down,” Tony ordered, waving off the gun as he tried to pull up a live feed of the R&amp;D department on his Starkpad. </p><p>“I was,” Peter tried to quickly explain. “I’m not any more, promise, but I don’t know why he was here because it means that they have some of a mission, but if they found me, they would’ve taken me at school,” Peter rambled. “So I thought they were trying to hurt SI or-” </p><p>“I’m going to need you to shut up and just listen to me right now,” Tony cut him off sharply and Peter took a hesitant step back at the tone, preparing for the yelling to begin. “No, you’re not running away right now. Come over here and tell me which is the man you think is the Hydra agent,” he waved the teenager close to him. </p><p>“I don’t just think it, I know it,” he clarified for Tony, taking a step forward, scanning the video feed before swallowing hard, “That one,” he pointed to the agent who was working at one of the benches. “I’m sure I’m not mixing him up,” he tried to reassure both the man, looking up as Rhodey had come over to see the identification of the agent. </p><p>“Tony,” the Colonel started and Tony gave him a nod. </p><p>“Start heading down there, I’ll be right behind you.” </p><p>“Mr. Stark -” Peter started again as if to explain why he had been involved with Hydra, reassure him that he wasn’t a part of them anymore, and that this whole homeless situation wasn’t a ruse to get Peter on the inside. </p><p>“You are going to go up to the penthouse and you are going to wait there and not move an inch off that floor, is that understood?” </p><p>Peter was about to start arguing that he could help Rhodey in making sure the agent didn’t escape. He didn’t want Tony anywhere near that man. But then he saw that cold stare from the man and he swallowed hard, “Yes, sir,” he confirmed walking to the elevator, not even looking back when he heard one of the glass containers open to reveal the Iron Man suits. He didn’t want Tony to see the tears filling his eyes as he rode the elevator up to the man’s floor. </p><p>It was rare that he was ever entirely alone on this floor, but Pepper had been at a conference in Singapore this whole week so it was silent when he entered it. Looking around at the floor, it felt like he hadn’t been back here in days. So much had shifted in the past hour that the textbooks that were half sprawled out on the dining room table and the mostly empty coffee pot in the sink were just cruel reminders of the lie that he had been living this past month, that he had been normal. </p><p>Peter wandered over to his bedroom, methodically trying to gather up his most important belongings for when he got kicked out of the tower (the best case scenario he saw at this point). He gathered up his textbooks, placing them in a plastic bag as he had left his backpack in the lab. He folded the softest sweatshirt he had, placing it on top of the books. He padded over to the bedside table pulling out his latest models of his web shooters, along with two containers of fluid, folding them inside the sweatshirt. </p><p>As he moved over to grab his wallet, he let out a frustrated sigh when he realized that his hand was still sticking to the plastic bag, his powers always flaring up when he was upset. He could manage them most of the time, but when there were times like this, he couldn’t focus on just controlling them and appearing normal. His handlers used to scream at him about it but oftentimes that would only make the flare up worse. Sighing, he tried shaking the bag off him, harder and harder before he watched the contents slide across the room.   </p><p>Turning around on instinct, he lashed out, kicking his desk out of frustration before he realized that he had accidentally split the panel in two and the desk tilted to the side, pens rolling off it. With a frustrated cry, he fell to the floor, settling up against the bed, curling his knees to his chest, unable to hold the tears in anymore. He was always going to be a mutant. No matter how far he ran away from Hydra, he couldn’t change the damage that they had inflicted on his DNA, his father’s research twisted in a cruel manner and coming back to haunt the only legacy of the Parker family.    </p><p>Peter’s enhanced hearing could pick up the mechanical whirl of the elevator approaching the floor, and he wiped away his eyes. He should give Tony the respect to leave the Tower without a fuss. Maybe New York wasn’t the right place for him to start over. It had only been his home for four years before he returned to it. He hadn’t even tried to reach out to his Aunt or Uncle, who he thought might still be living in Queens, worried that he would put them in too much danger. Then what was even the point in staying in the city? Clinging onto some false delusion of a happier time? Spiders did better in warmer climates, maybe California? </p><p>He pushed himself to stand up when he heard Tony call out, “Peter?”</p><p>The teenager stepped over the textbooks sprawled on his floor. He could scoop them up quickly if he was allowed to come back to his room. He wiped his nose with the back of his flannel shirt as he shuffled out of the room and down the hallway to the main living area. “Yes, sir?” He asked timidly, still hanging back from Tony, almost worried that he would hurt him if he got too close. He hurt everyone it seemed that he cared about. </p><p>“The man you identified, he was employed as Lucas Ward, but I’m guessing that’s not his real name. He tried to run, but Rhodey detained him. He’s interrogating him now, and I’ve called in Agent Hill with SHIELD to assist in the matter,” Tony explained, straightforward to the boy. </p><p>“Good,” he quickly nodded. “I was worried maybe that he would run or someone would get hurt or something,” his voice trailed off as the two of them fell into a silence. Peter fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. </p><p>Tony sighed, moving over to the living room and pulling out a bottle from the bar cart, that Peter had only ever previously seen Pepper use. Peter stood rooted to the same spot as he hadn’t been dismissed, silently watching as Tony plucked a few ice cubes from the freezer before moving over to the living room couch. “It can’t be quite comfortable standing right there,” Tony commented after taking a sip from his glass. </p><p>“It’s alright, Mr. Stark,” Peter was quick to reassure, still not moving a muscle. </p><p>“How about instead, you come over here and sit,” he commanded Peter and the teenager nodded, swiftly moving to the couch, perching on the edge across from Tony, still not meeting his eyes. </p><p>“Now, I’ve tried to give you a wide berth when it’s come to you telling me about what happened to you before you came and live with me. But it’s become clear that agreement isn’t going to work anymore,” he told Peter. “So I’m going to need you to tell me the full truth and I want you to look me in the eyes when you tell me, none of that ducking your head and hiding shit that you seem to be so fond of,” he took another long sip of his whiskey. </p><p>Peter slowly raised his head to meet Tony’s eyes turning slightly red. “Yes, sir,” he replied clearly, showing that he was willing to give whatever information Tony wanted. It had to be a good sign that he was not screaming and throwing things at him and demanding for him to get out.   “Um, what do you want to know or where should I start?” </p><p>“Let’s start with how you knew that that man was a Hydra agent.” </p><p>“Because I had gone on a mission with him, when I was with Hydra, about three years ago,” Peter supplied. </p><p>“So you were - “</p><p>“Ten, sir, yes,” he confirmed. </p><p>“Jesus,” Tony leaned back in his seat processing that information. The kid must have been smaller than he was now and yet he had been expected to go on a mission? “How does a ten year old end up on a Hydra mission?” </p><p>“Uh, with a lot of bad luck,” he supplied lightly but saw that wasn’t quite the answer that Tony was looking for. “I wasn’t always with them,” he started. “I know I was living in New York before, I remembered going to the zoo when I was little. And I lived in an apartment with my Mom and Dad,” he rambled. “But I was really young so I don’t remember a ton.” </p><p>“What, so you got lost from your parents or something?” Tony prompted him, picking up that Peter was having a hard time focusing.</p><p>“Um, not really, it’s hard because a lot of things were jumbled about how I got there,” he admitted to Tony. “But I was able to piece together things when I was older,” he supplied. “My parents were scientists, they were working on research together, so they would go on a lot of trips together to conferences and stuff and since I was little they took me with them.” </p><p>“Their names?” Tony interrupted, curious if he knew them if they were international researchers. </p><p>“Richard and Mary Parker,” Peter quickly replied. “They were doing biomedical research,” he added. “My Dad wasn’t the healthiest and then I had a lot of breathing problems like asthma when I was little.” Peter remembered his Dad’s lingering cough when he grew up, and how he always made Peter keep the inhaler on hand in case he had been hit with an asthma attack in those first few years. </p><p>“So you’re Peter Parker then?” Tony asked curiously. “Or did you lie about your first name too?” He raised an eyebrow. </p><p>“No, Peter’s my real first name,” he promised. “Common enough that I think I didn’t need to change it,” he explained his logic to Tony. “I guess my full name is Peter Benjamin Parker,” he watched as Tony picked up his Starkpad and searched his full name. “You’re not going to find much-” </p><p>“You’re dead,” Tony cut him off, quickly skimming the obituary from nearly ten years ago. </p><p>“Yeah, that’s the awkward thing,” he ran a hand through his hair. “We were on some sort of plane ride, maybe to Switzerland? Mom kept talking about the chocolate,” he squinted, always having a bit of trouble remembering the events from that day but he did remember climbing on his Mom’s lap, looking out the window while she was trying to convince him to get some sleep. “Our plane went down. I must have hit my head at one point since I can’t remember the crash, but then I woke up in a locked room with my Dad, must have been a few days later since he started to have a bit of a beard at that point,” he wrung his hands. “I was only four, so I don’t remember a lot,” he admitted to Tony. </p><p>“And you were with Hydra then?” Tony clarified. </p><p>“Yeah, didn’t know it then, but yeah,” he nodded. “My parents were working on cross-species genetics engineering. They just wanted to help with gene therapy for immune systems to make them stronger, you know, like a treatment for immunocompromised people,” he promised.    </p><p>“Why are you telling me this?” Tony interrupted worried that Peter was going on another tangent. </p><p>“Because I want you to understand that my family wasn’t Hydra. They didn’t want to hurt anyone, we weren’t evil,” Peter quickly explained. “But Hydra saw their research not just to fix immune systems, but another way to make a super soldier formula,” he admitted. </p><p>“Shit,” Tony breathed out, rubbing his eyes. It seems that the success of Steve had sparked a never ending race to make someone that could rival him. “So they attacked your parents to get to their research?” </p><p>“Basically yeah, but they weren’t finished with it at that time,” Peter explained. “I don’t know if they were worried that someone else would also get interested in the research, that they wanted to make sure they got to it first, I don’t know,” he trailed off. “But I know that Dad had to work for them on it.” </p><p>“And your Mom?” </p><p>“I don’t think she made it through the plane crash,” he admitted to Tony trying to keep his voice steady. “I woke up and it was just Dad in our small room. I asked about Mom and he just said that she was gone, but that she was still watching over us in heaven. He didn’t like talking about it much, just said that my Mom loved me a lot,” his voice choked for a minute. “Used to tell me a lot of stories about her.” </p><p>“So your Dad was with you then?” </p><p>Peter nodded, “Yeah, I think for about two years. It was hard to tell time just because I was little, but I remember him trying to celebrate two of my birthdays during that time, so yeah, in the beginning. And he tried Mr. Stark, I promise, he wasn’t working with them willingly, but he had this little kid there too,” Peter rambled. “He was gone a lot, but when he was with me, he taught me to read and basics of science and played make believe with me, and just made me try and feel normal. But yeah, I was left alone a lot, and couldn’t leave that room.” </p><p>Tony sighed, thinking about this kid who had been targeted just because of his parents' research. How they should have been more careful so that the consequences of their work didn’t fall on their son’s shoulders. “What happened after those two years?” He asked almost hesitantly.  </p><p>Peter bit his lip, “People started coming into our room when Dad was gone, asking me questions, and then they would take me to a medical center,” he started to explain. “They told me that good boys listened to adults and did what they said. And Dad always tried to reassure me that I was good, so I just listened to them and they started to run different tests on me. Gave me more food so I wasn’t actually hungry,” he wrung his hands.</p><p>“Dad was scared when he found out about it. Said that I needed to just stay in the room if they came again. They left me alone for a few weeks, but then a few guards came in. They kept saying I needed to go with them, but I just screamed since that’s what Dad told me to do,” his voice cracked. “But I was a little kid, so they just picked me up, and they brought me to this lab and strapped me down. I didn’t know where my Dad was. I really tried to fight them, but I was just a kid. They brought over this spider and put it on my chest and it bit me,” he explained, shaking his head. “It stung, and then I felt awful for days. I don’t remember a lot but I was throwing up a lot and had a really high fever. I was back in my room, and Dad was there. I don’t remember a lot but I remember that he kept holding me and was apologizing and crying,” he explained. </p><p>Tony cut in, “They used his research on you didn’t they?” Peter quickly nodded his confirmation. “Why?” </p><p>“I guess I was disposable if it didn’t work,” he ventured as that question had haunted him for years too. “They wouldn’t have to replace a guard or something if it ended up killing me. They didn’t exactly explain why, didn’t need to know that kind of information I guess,” he wiped his eyes. “Dad was gone afterwards. I kept trying to ask all the guards that would bring my meals, and one finally told me that he had been killed because the serum had worked. They didn’t need him anymore. They had what they wanted.” </p><p>“So this spider changed you?” Tony prompted Peter. </p><p>“Yeah,” Peter confirmed. “Changed my DNA,” he admitted to Tony, swallowing hard. Hopefully Tony would understand a bit more now that he knew that Peter hadn’t wanted to become a freak. </p><p>“How?” </p><p>“Um,” he reached forward and picked up a pen before letting it hang from his hand. “I’m a lot more sticky, since spiders have these microfibers that can help them cling to things. They also can lift things like 10 times their body weight,” he listed off for Tony. “And like my senses have been dialed up to 11 since it happened.” </p><p>“Which ones?” </p><p>“Hearing mainly, metabolism too,” he explained. “Sometimes I can sense danger before it happens too,” he added. “It’s like a buzzing in the back of my head, that’s how I knew the agent was in the lab.” </p><p>Tony ran a hand through his hair, “That’s why you didn’t want your blood drawn? Because it would show this mutation?” </p><p>“Yeah,” Peter nodded but quickly added. “But I try not to use the mutations, I know it’s freaky,” he trailed off. “I haven’t used them when I was here, well, at least I really try not to.” </p><p>“But they’re a part of you correct?” </p><p>Peter nodded confirming that he wasn’t normal, worried that Tony would be too weirded out by this. I mean, was he even fully human anymore? </p><p>“So you got this spider bite,” Tony started. “What happened next?” He asked trying to get a full picture of what Peter had been through. </p><p>“T-They started to run a lot of tests on me,” Peter explained. “I guess to see if it worked and to what extent,” he closed his eyes to try and suppress the painful memories of being taken in for tests day after day, scraping patches of skin off the back of his hand to study the microfibers and seeing how long Peter could endure holding up things ten time his weight. “That happened for at least a year,” he whispered to Tony trying to calm his breathing. “Then they said I was ready to start training.”</p><p>“So you were seven then?” Tony asked a bit softer having watched Peter’s reaction when talking about the tests. He could push for more details later if he needed it. </p><p>Peter nodded, “They gave me a handler who worked with the scientist in charge of the experiment and the two decided what I could and couldn’t do, and what the consequences were for disobedience. Mr. Stark, I didn’t want to do it,” he pleaded with the man, his voice breaking. “But I was so tired of getting hurt,” a tear slipped out. </p><p>“That scar on your stomach, the one I saw when you were sick? That was from them?” Tony asked trying to understand the extent of the torture that Peter went through. </p><p>“I was eight and I didn’t move fast enough,” he confirmed. “Usually I healed up pretty fast, a side effect of the spider bite, but they withheld food which made healing harder. I guess they wanted me to have a reminder of what happened when I made mistakes.” </p><p>“Kid,” Tony sighed but didn’t say anything more on the subject, gesturing for Peter to continue with his story. </p><p>“They kept sending me on more and more missions when I got older, but I knew that people were getting hurt because of it,” he whispered ashamed of his actions. “I knew it was selfish to keep going on them and not fight harder, but I had been there for so long,” he ducked his head for the first time, unable to meet Tony’s gaze anymore. The man was a superhero, constantly putting his life in danger, and Peter was a coward who had used his powers to hurt people instead of trying to run earlier. </p><p>“Eyes, Peter,” Tony reminded him, gentler than before, moving on from the subject. “How did you leave them then? You said that you’re no longer a Hydra agent, so how did a 13 year old kid get out?” </p><p>Peter took a moment to compose himself before lifting his head again, “I guess I was getting more and more upset about hurting others,” he wiped his eyes. “I knew that I only had one shot to get out. They threatened to erase my memories if I didn’t comply,” he admitted. “And it looked like I was obedient for a while, because that’s how I stayed safe. I guess they got too comfortable with that idea though, and they stopped locking my door to my room, something about finally acclimating to Hydra,” he shrugged. “I figured out how to disable their security systems temporarily, and I just ran,” Peter reported. “Made my way back to New York since it was really the only other place I knew,” he wrapped his arms around his stomach. “I know that they’re still after me though, they invested too much time into my experiment, so I had to keep my head down. I couldn’t be Peter Parker, it would be too obvious. So I just became Peter,” he let his eyes linger on the skyline. </p><p>“I just wanted to be normal, Mr. Stark,” his voice cracked again. “I wanted to go to school and maybe go to college and just forget about all of this. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore, I never did. But I knew that if I got too comfortable, I would slip up and they would find me. So I tried to distance myself as much as I could, which is how I ended up in that alley,” Peter chewed on his lip before adding, “I know I have family in the city but I can’t even tell them I’m not dead because it would put them in danger. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt too.”    </p><p>Tony sighed, standing up and crossing the room grabbing a box of tissues that Pepper kept on handing before coming back to the couch and passing the box to the boy. “Alright,” he started after he let Peter compose his face, “Anything else you want to tell me Pete or that I should know about?” </p><p>Peter thought about it for a moment before admitting sheepishly, “I kinda broke your desk that was in my room, sir.” </p><p>“How did that even-?” </p><p>“Enhanced strength, not really good at controlling it when I’m upset, sorry,” he finished watching Tony for his reaction after all of this. The man hadn’t made any real comments on his story, just asked for clarifying questions or gut reactions to different facts that Peter told him. But did Tony hate him after all of that? A kid who had done Hydra’s dirty work for years? Peter hated himself a little bit for that so he couldn’t really blame Tony, especially with how Hydra had personally ruined the man’s life.</p><p>“Why didn’t you talk to me about this?” Tony asked Peter bluntly. “I know it might not be the first thing out of your mouth meeting me, but surely you knew that I’m basically the opposite of Hydra,” he added. </p><p>Peter bit his lip pondering the question and also thinking about what kind of answer he was expecting from Peter, “Because I was selfish,” he murmured to the man. “Because you were like the first grown up that liked me and just wanted to get to know me as Peter,” he fiddled with his hands. “That just didn’t want to use me for my powers and I was worried that you would be scared of me if you knew that I was a mutant. And I just felt normal, for once,” he admitted wrapping his arms around his stomach. </p><p>“I knew being alone kept me safe but I was so tired of it,” his voice choked as he hoped that Tony would actually believe what he was saying and not think that Peter was just trying to manipulate him into letting him stay. “Then Pepper was talking about what happened with the Accords and how you found out that Hydra had killed your parents and you didn’t find out for years and Captain America had hid it from you and how you were so angry at him about it. I just didn’t want to hurt you ‘cause I hid things too, but I did anyways,” he wiped his eyes angrily. “And then I saw that man, and I knew that if I just let him stay there you could get even more hurt. I couldn’t let that happen. I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark,” he finished prepared to be kicked out by the man. </p><p>A moment of silence passed between the two of them, only interrupted by Peter’s sniffles. “You know, Hydra killed your parents too,” Tony softly pointed out to the teenager who looked up, confused by Tony’s comment. “What I mean, is that it seems you have just as much right to be pissed off at them as I do.” </p><p>“But I worked for them for years,” Peter tried to stress to Tony, worried that the man wasn’t understanding the gravity of Peter’s actions. “I went on missions for them. I hurt people because I wasn’t strong enough.” </p><p>“You’re also still a kid, Peter,” Tony reasoned with him, starting to see the enormous amount of guilt that was resting on Peter’s shoulders. “You’re a kid who was stolen by them and experimented on and tortured into some semblance of compliance. I don’t think you had much of a choice.” </p><p>“I could’ve tried to run earlier,” Peter argued back, having gone over this a million times in his head already. “I could’ve fought back and been braver.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Tony tilted his head listening to Peter’s logic. “Maybe you could’ve tried but like you said, you were scared that it wouldn’t work and that you would get caught and they’d wipe your memories. You really think that eight year old Peter could have escaped?” He challenged the boy. </p><p>Peter shrugged, “I don’t know, I could’ve tried,” he murmured.  </p><p>Tony sighed trying to figure out how to explain this next part, “Kid, you know I wasn’t always Iron Man, right?” He asked, watching the boy nod still staring at the floor. “Well before I was Iron Man, I was a bit of a dick, well more than I am right now,” he explained. </p><p>“Mr. Stark, you’re not a dick,” Peter piped up. </p><p>“What did Pepper say about you giving me a big head?” Tony raised his eyebrow. “Besides that’s not the point,” he waved Peter off. “I wasn’t a good man beforehand. Just take my word for it. I had this huge company that I was in charge of, but all I cared about was drinking and partying and gambling, I let others take over my responsibility, and it went south,” he explained. “By doing that, my company started dealing under the table without my knowledge and hurting a lot of families in the process,” Tony tried to explain, taking another sip of his whiskey to try and ease some of the bubbling guilt that was rising up. “They called me the Merchant of Death and I didn’t care because I was making a lot of money.” </p><p>“But you can’t control everything in your company,” Peter started to defend Tony. </p><p>“I could have controlled this, Peter, if I had just looked a little harder, spent a few more minutes on actually managing my company,” he told Peter carefully. “But it wasn’t until I saw the consequences of my actions up close and personal, that I started to give a damn,” he explained absentmindedly rubbing his chest. He still got phantom pains from where the arc reactor used to sit from time to time. </p><p>“The point is I did a lot of bad things in my past,” Tony admitted to him. “And I can’t change any of that. I can’t bring anyone back to life who were killed by my weapons,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “So Iron Man is the next best thing that I can do to atone for it, take some responsibility and put others first,” he explained to the boy. </p><p>“A-And you’ve saved so many people,” Peter pointed out. “New York and Sokovia,” he listed off. </p><p>“There’s a lot of people that I didn’t save though, and that guilt sits with you,” he admitted to Peter. “It’s always in the back of your head, wondering if you had done something different maybe someone else would be alive.” </p><p>Peter chewed on his lip, mulling over Tony’s words. It was the reason that he always had trouble sleeping after a mission, wondering if he could’ve tipped someone off and helped them escape. “You start focusing on that and it consumes you, Peter. You don’t get a chance to make your future better than your past,” Tony pointed out to Peter. “You left Hydra, Peter, all on your own, and certainly not because it was easy. I think that matters.” </p><p>“But I went on missions for them for years,” Peter stressed again as he started to pace in front of Tony. “They’re awful and I worked for them. I was a weapon and I hurt people,” his voice cracked. “And they destroyed your family, how can you even stand to be in the same room as me? Captain America sided with the guy who did it and you two got into a huge fight.” He asked Tony, his eyes red. </p><p>Tony felt an ache in his chest when Peter brought up Steve. Like Pepper had told Peter, the wound was still fresh for him, losing his family, someone he had grown to believe was a brother. To have someone hide something from him for long had brought up a lot of unresolved feelings of Obie hiding things from Tony for “his own good”. One of the reasons he surrounded himself by people like Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy was that they told things to him straight. They didn’t hide the facts from him and were prepared to call him out if they thought he was walking down the wrong path.</p><p> Peter deserved an explanation though, “The fight with Cap was a bit more complicated than what Pepper told you,” he explained. “Rationally, I understand Barnes didn’t have any free will at the time, I saw the switch fighting him after he had heard the trigger words, sure it was an adjustment when I learned it was him, but I think I’ve come to terms that it was Hydra not him that killed my parents,” Tony explained. “What I haven’t come to terms with was that a man I saw as family hid this information from me for years because he thought that he knew what was best for me,” he shook his head. “But really because it was easier because then I wouldn’t look into who may have been responsible for their deaths and Barnes may have been caught in the crossfire temporarily.” </p><p>Tony stood up walking over to where Peter had been resting, looking out on the skyline, his hands tucked in his pockets. “You could’ve hid the Hydra agent from me, tried to either take care of the situation on your own using your sticky powers or just ignored it and kept your head down, maybe leaving the Tower to make sure you were out of the line of fire. But instead you came and told me straight away to make sure we really caught the guy even though you may not like the consequences. You didn’t try and run, you owned up to it. You told me the full truth. I think that’s brave, Peter,” he told the teenager honestly. “Braver than what Captain America did,” he added. </p><p>“But he’s a hero, like you, and I’m just,” he trailed off. “It was just the right choice,” Peter shrugged. </p><p>“A lot of people wouldn’t have chosen to do the right thing though. Especially a kid who has been beaten down and terrorized by Hydra for almost a decade and still ran from them to basically say screw you to them,” Tony rested a hand on Peter’s shoulder giving him a small squeeze to reassure him. </p><p>Peter still felt that Tony was being generous in his view of Peter’s actions. He didn’t see what he did as being all that special. He still hid things from Mr. Stark for weeks. But when the silence settled between them, he had to finally voice the question that had been lingering in the back of his head, “What comes next?” He asked quietly. </p><p>Tony rocked on his heels for a moment trying to figure out how to answer that question and reassure Peter, “Well I think the safest place for you to be is currently at the Tower. You’re right in thinking the foster system wouldn’t be safe, maybe witness protection would help, but we don’t know that for sure. And certainly not the streets where anyone could pick you up while you’re sleeping,” he rambled. “So I think it would be best for you to stay here and we can tell Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy about your predicament just so that you’re aware.” </p><p>“You’re not kicking me out?” The question tumbled out of Peter before he blushed. </p><p>“And lose my personal coffee runner? Please, I wouldn’t last a week,” Tony teased and he saw a small smile tug at the corner of Peter’s lips. “Sorry I was so hard on you kid beforehand,” Tony apologized. </p><p>“It’s alright, Mr. Stark, I lied and you were upset,” Peter quickly excused, his head soaring when he realized that he truly would have a home at the Tower with Tony. He wouldn’t just be a temporary visitor, it would be a place where he truly felt safe and wanted.</p><p>Peter quickly looked up when Tony started speaking again, “Then, since we’ve come to an understanding that Hydra is basically one of the worst organizations in the world and they are certainly not as weak as I once thought, I figured maybe we could give them a bit of a shakedown, prevent any other kids from becoming orphans, what do you say kid?” </p><p>“I think I’d really like that, Mr. Stark,” Peter admitted looking up at the man, a determined fire lighting up his eyes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this took a little bit longer than expected, but I hope you enjoy the resolution to the cliffhanger. Also send me good vibes because I'm terrified of wasps, but somehow one has been able to wiggle itself into my apartment and I trapped it in my window but am worried that it'll get out!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Peter woke up with a headache the next morning. He groaned as he rolled to the side, glancing at the clock near his bed, sighing as he realized that he only had just over an hour to get to school that morning. He pushed off the blankets as he sat up and stretched, before rubbing his eyes. He had only gone to bed about five hours before, having spent most of the night talking with Tony, trying to share as much strategic information as he had on Hydra to begin dismantling the organization. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to smile as he thought about that fact. He had told Tony the truth and the man hadn’t kicked him out, hadn’t screamed that he hated Peter. Instead he had reassured Peter that he had been a kid, doing the best he could in the situation, and that he was brave coming to Tony. They had talked for hours, moving out on the balcony. Peter enjoyed the chill of the air for once refreshing instead of finding it biting. Tony had divulged to Peter a bit more about his childhood. Like Peter, he didn’t have many friends and that he had faced pressure by others to meet standards he never thought reachable. It was nice for Peter to finally talk and share some of his fears, after years of being told to shut up by the adults in his life. To be able to talk for hours without a fear of reprimand had finally lifted a weight off his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now he was paying for his lack of sleep this morning as he pulled on a sweater going to gather up his backpack, shoving his half finished homework inside. He could make sure it was all done in the car ride with Happy. He stumbled out of the room, trying to zip up his backpack, hopping while he pulled on a sock as he made his way down to the kitchen. Peter wandered over to the cabinet pulling out two packs of Pop-Tarts, stuffing one in his bag as a mid morning snack as he started to munch on the other one grabbing his sneakers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter,” the older man’s voice sleepily called out and the teenager looked up at Tony who was leaning against the breakfast counter trying to suppress a yawn. “What’cha doing there buddy? It’s only 7 am,” he pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s 7, I’m going to be late, Happy’s going to kill me since the rush hour traffic just gets worse,” he explained to the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pete, I don’t think it’s the best idea for you to go to school today,” Tony started and a chill went down Peter’s spine. Oh god, what if the agent had escaped overnight and Tony just wasn’t sure how to break the news. He let the bag slip to the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M-Mr. Stark,” Peter met the man’s eyes with his own wide ones. “D-Did anything h-happen after I fell asleep?” He asked hesitantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, no, Peter, everything’s fine,” Tony quickly reassured, seeing Peter’s pale face. “I promise, he’s still in custody. You just got barely any sleep,” the man pointed out watching the teenager’s shoulders relax. “And if Hydra knows that the agent was compromised they might just be paying a bit closer attention to the Tower than usual, might just be better to stay closer to home, just until things die down a little bit,” Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder to reassure him. “You’re smarter than most of your class, you can afford to take a few days off, ok?” He asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded agreeing that staying home might be the smartest choice at this point, moving back over to the breakfast bar. “Now Pop-Tarts aren’t going to help support that growth spurt that you keep claiming is going to happen,” Tony teased and Peter scowled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Boys aren’t even supposed to really hit that until they’re fourteen,” he argued back, hating being one of the shortest kids in his class. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, you’ll hit it someday,” Tony waved off the argument. “That is if you eat something more than a Pop-Tart. How does an omelette sound? I make a mean omelette, kiddo.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pepper said that it took you three hours to make her an omelette.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She should try cooking an omelette on an airplane,” Tony mumbled as he went over to the fridge. “I promise I won’t starve you for three hours.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright it’s a deal,” Peter settled at the breakfast bar, watching as Tony started to crack at least five eggs in a bowl and cursing under his breath as he spotted a shell in the bowl, trying to fish it out. Peter had to suppress a snort as the man stuck his fingers into the eggs breaking the yolks in the process and making the egg shell recovery process much harder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I give up,” Tony cried out frustrated. “A little egg shell never hurt anyone, probably has calcium or something,” he gave Peter a smile before noting the bags under his eyes. “Just how much sleep did you get?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a ton,” he admitted to Tony rubbing his eyes. “Just thinking about a lot of stuff,” he replied vaguely. “Maybe I should go downstairs and help out Colonel Rhodes with the interrogation.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Tony replied firmly as he went to grab cheese from the refrigerator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But they trained me. Maybe there’s things that you won’t pick up on, that I could and help you out,” Peter proposed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said no, Peter, I don’t want you anywhere near that man. If he doesn’t know you’re here, then I want to keep it that way,” Tony explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s one way glass we could use,” Peter started again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kiddo, you’re just going to need to trust me on this,” Tony glanced back, seeing Peter’s scowl.  “I know that’s hard for you, giving trust to adults and that’s understandable considering what you went through, but you’ve got to give me a try or this team thingy that we have isn’t going to work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re a team?” Peter stuttered out, meeting Tony’s gaze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah we are,” Tony confirmed. “But I’m team leader here since I’m the grown up. You’re the young buck who’s slowly figuring this stuff out,” Tony clearly defined. “And there will be no coups for the position of team leader,” Tony quickly warned. “You have a problem, you come talk to me like you did last night, but I make the final decision since I’m older and have more experience at this game.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-” Peter tried to figure out a reason as to why they couldn’t have a more equal arrangement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, this is just how things are going to go if you want to be normal. This is what normal teams do, the rookie isn’t the head of the team,” he reminded Peter. “Now I want a pinky promise from you that you won’t start any coups overthrowing me as team leader,” the man leaned over the counter holding out his pinky for the boy to shake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A what now?” Peter asked, confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, probably missed out on a few things growing up in a literal terrorist organization. It’s a promise and you can’t break it,” Tony guided Peter’s pink to hook with his. “Just like that, see, you pinky promised, can’t break that now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s a real thing, Mr. Stark,” Peter laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It absolutely is a real thing, who’s the adult here, and aren’t we on a telling the truth kick between the two of us?” He teased back before noticing how Peter was shifting in his seat. “Come on, out with it kid, what are you hiding?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not hiding anything Mr. Stark,” Peter claimed, his voice jumping an octave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Then why is your voice turning into a squeaker?” Tony challenged him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not,” he cleared his throat to get his voice under control. “I’m not, I just was thinking about a lot of stuff last night,” Peter trailed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to tell me what kind of stuff caused those bags under your eyes?” Tony prompted him. He noticed Peter hesitating and moved back over to the counter to give the boy his full attention. “I bet it isn’t stupid, Pete,” he encouraged him gently, knowing that Peter could easily get worked up over voicing his own thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just,” he started running a hand through his hair nervously trying to figure out how to phrase this. “I was thinking a lot about what you said about how you tried to take responsibility for your actions, and how you couldn’t change the bad things in the past so you started thinking about how you could make up for your past in the future,” He started to explain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, I was taking responsibility for my actions, because I was an adult. You’re still just a kid-” Tony started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, you keep saying that, but I don’t think I’ve really been a kid for a while,” he trailed off and Tony’s heart broke for the boy. This teenager who was so bright and kind should have had a childhood. He shouldn’t have been pressured into becoming a weapon for a terrorist organization. And if Peter really thought that he wasn’t a kid, then Tony wasn’t doing enough for him. He looked up when the boy continued, “That’s not the point, the point is, I’m really glad that we’re a team and that we’re going to try and take down Hydra as much as we can, but,” he paused thinking about how to phrase this. “I don’t want to just destroy something evil and bad, but I want to create something good.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the difference?” Tony challenged him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter paused trying to articulate it, but Tony took that as winning the argument and Peter blushed cutting off the man, “No, no, there is a difference and you know it,” Peter argued. “There’s a lot of people that don’t do anything bad in the world but there’s not always as many people doing good,” he tried to explain. “Like a lot of people just ignored me if they saw me when I was on my own in the alley,” he continued. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I mean lots of people are busy, but you did a good thing and tried to help me out when you found me,” he blushed slightly. “There’s a difference,” he finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright kid,” Tony agreed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I guess I can see your point. So how do you want to create something good?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot of people that don’t have someone to look out for them,” he started. “I saw a lot of them when I was out there on my own. And sometimes when people stand up they get hurt because they’re normal,” Peter explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re trying their best but,” Peter chewed his lip trailing off. “I saw this guy...I actually had enough money to get something hot to eat for once on the weekend and I got this really great sandwich,” Peter explained. “It was a really good day and then this robber came into the Bodega and I just kept my head down because I just wanted my sandwich,” he twisted his hands. “But this other guy who was there tried to talk the robber down, offering him a place to stay and a meal since he must’ve been going through a rough time. But the robber shot him anyway,” his voice choked. “And I could’ve done something if I was braver. I would’ve been faster, could’ve dodged the bullet unlike the guy. All I could do was hold the guy’s hand while he was bleeding out,” Peter wiped the corner of his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, you never know with these kinds of things,” Tony tried to comfort him, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. Tony thought that this kid had really gone through the ringer before he came to live with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one’s looking out for the people that are doing something good, for people like Ben, that’s what he said his name was,” Peter admitted. “I have these powers, this training, I know how to fight and protect people,” he explained. “And I just think,” he paused. “When you can do the things I can and you don’t and then the bad things happen they happen because of you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid-” Tony tried to start again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I know it might not be logical, and it might not be doing a lot. I mean it's nowhere near what the Avengers do, but it's making some sort of good in the world and that's gotta be better than doing nothing," Peter finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony paused considering Peter's words carefully. If he was going to ask for the kid's trust, things needed to be a two way street in terms of communicating with each other. “So you want to look out for the little guy, just do your part, create some good as you said?” He asked summarizing the kid’s argument to make sure that he heard them correctly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” Peter nodded enthusiastically. “Just look out for the little guy, you know?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony sighed leaning back on his heels considering Peter’s proposal. He didn’t think the kid really looked like someone that could put up a fight (when Tony had picked him up it had looked like a strong gust of wind could knock him over). But he had to give the kid some credit. He escaped an international terrorist organization on his own at age twelve. Maybe there was something there? “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?” Tony asked with a small smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Peter started. “I think those efforts might be a bit unsuccessful,” he admitted to the</span>
</p><p>
  <span>man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony sighed, rubbing his forehead knowing that if anyone else found out about this, they would kill him. “Ok, if you’re going to do this, there will be some rules.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Peter’s face brightened up at the possibility of not having to sneak behind Tony’s back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rules that you’ll need to follow. Like you need to stick close to the ground, you’re just looking out for the little guy, not auditioning to become an Avenger. And you’re going to need a suit, full top to bottom one, that will look out for you, and you’re going to have a curfew and if your grades start slipping then we’re going to need to re-evaluate this situation.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter beamed up at the man, thinking that all of those rules were reasonable. “Uh, are omelettes supposed to be served flaming?” He asked hesitantly, pointing to the stove. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Tony ran over, fanning the flames down with a damp rag.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Alright, kid, get up on that platform there,” Tony pointed out to the boy in his lab three days later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” The teenager asked confused but followed Tony’s instructions, hoping up onto the slightly raised platform. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gotta make sure this new suit of yours properly fits, arms out,” he instructed as he had FRIDAY start scanning Peter’s figure to get the measurements into the modeling system. It had been a few days since Peter had floated the idea of going out and “creating some good” as he called it. They hashed out a bit more about what Peter wanted it to look like, combined with how he could balance it with still being a kid and giving him time to rest and recover. After some discussion, they decided on starting out with “patrols”, a few hours at a time, where Peter could look out for others and help anyone that really needed it at the time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he saw that FRIDAY was done scanning him, he skipped off the platform approaching the hologram that Tony had pulled up, “That’s so cool,” he poked the model Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll make adjustments as needed as you grow taller, let me know if things are feeling particularly tight,” Tony explained. “So going through the things we talked about, a mask,” he listed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Peter nodded quickly. Peter had seen how Tony rarely left the Tower because he would be mobbed by the paparazzi trying to catch a glimpse of Iron Man. Because of this and that he didn’t really care if people recognized what he was doing or not, they had decided that a mask would be the best option in order to give the teenager some sense of normalcy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you brought the web thingies down here?” He asked gesturing with his hand out for the devices. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re called web shooters, it’s not that hard to remember,” he grumbled, handing them over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s an impressive design, but they still look like they could break apart at any moment,” Tony complimented having FRIDAY scan them and add them to the model. “Let’s reprint them with a stronger material, maybe carbon fiber? That way they won’t weigh you down too. You sure you don’t want to run any tests on the web fluid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve run plenty of tests on it, like over a hundred, I think I’ve hit the sweet spot with it,” Peter reassured the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you really want to go with the spider thing?” Tony asked hesitantly as that had been the subject to much of their debate. He had been surprised with how much Peter had been pushing through it. “I know we talked about you staying low to the ground and just doing day to day helping stuff, not bigger missions, but it’s not that hard to put two and two together if Hydra sees a new spider vigilante and they’re wondering where their missing spider experiment went,” Tony tried again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like I’m going to end up on the news or something,” Peter reasoned with him. “No one’s really going to care if I help people get home safe or get a cat out of a tree. Besides, it would be like, too obvious,” he explained. “And I wasn’t exactly a kid that they were expecting to become a vigilante when I was there. I was just quiet, trying to stay out of trouble,” he described. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it’s still going to be similar powers, it’s not that discreet,” Tony gently pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know,” he ran a hand through his hair. “But I think that if they really wanted to they would make the connection regardless if I went with a different theme, like I know how smart they are,” Peter explained. “I know it’s a risk either way, but I can’t just keep focusing on running. Cause if I do then they basically win,” he finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright kid, it’s your decision ultimately,” Tony reassured him, starting to pick up that when Peter really set his mind to something, there was no way of persuading the stubborn kid any other way. Pepper said Peter was a bit like him in that way, so he guessed he better give the kid some slack since he was agreeing to Tony’s other rules. “Come up with a name yet?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know there are some strong front runners,” Peter stumbled as he had two pages full of discarded potential names at this point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t wait all day for them,” Tony teased back. “Gotta have a nice ring and it’s going to stick with you once you start using it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that how you ended up with Iron Man even though your suit isn’t made out of iron?” Peter shot back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well Titanium Alloy Man seems like a bit of a mouthful, gotta keep it short and sweet.” He watched as the boy chewed on his lip mulling it over. “You know which is my favorite?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not calling myself Spiderling, no one will ever take me seriously, and what happens when I’m your age? You said the name sticks with you!”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean by my age you might look, what, maybe 20 with that baby face of yours?” Tony teased him again watching the kid groan. “Maybe you’ll get some facial hair by then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My Dad had a beard,” he pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So maybe there’s still hope for you still,” he ruffled the kid’s hair who tried to duck and groan at the gesture. “Come on, this is the fun part, colors.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not black,” Peter immediately declared. “Uh, I had to wear a lot of black when I was back with them,” he quickly explained as Tony’s eyes softened. “I want to help others which means they’ve got to trust me. They’re not going to trust me if I look scary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So friendly neighborhood spider person?” Tony asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, exactly,” the teenager nodded. “I’m not trying to hide from the people I want </span>
</p><p>
  <span>to help.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What colors are friendly?” He prompted him, handing the Starkpad with the color palette available. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, red,” he pointed out, pulling up a shade he liked. “Kids like fire trucks, think they’re cool or something, so it’s a friendly color.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awww, did you like firetrucks? Is that what I’m getting?” Tony teased him. “Little Peter wanted to be a firefighter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” the teenager blushed, squirming away from Tony. “Maybe some blue too,” he proposed, changing the subject. “Blue’s supposed to be a really calming color.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Red and blue then,” Tony nodded. “Definitely no one’s going to miss you now, kid,” he laughed, starting to manufacture a prototype for the new suit. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“So how’s it feeling?” Tony asked nervously as Peter emerged from his bedroom in his new suit, covered completely from head to toe. The kid did appear to be a bit taller when you weren’t distracted by his big brown eyes and chubby cheeks that betrayed his true age. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A little tight, but no, I’ll get used to it, really it’s perfect, Mr. Stark, feels really flexible and everything,” he quickly reassured the man, turning around in it trying to get used to the HUD that was helping him analyze his surroundings. He was amazed how this much information at once did surprisingly help him focus. He didn’t have to worry about missing something when he had an extra set of eyes in the suit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure? Because we can always tailor it a bit more,” Tony fretted, thinking about how he had grown more and more nervous when Peter’s potential patrols quickly became a reality. “We can take our time and make sure it’s perfect.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, it feels good,” he reassured the man, again bouncing on his feet as if to warm up. “The fabric worked out, I can still stick to things, tested it out on the ceiling for like five minutes. And the web shooters don’t feel like they’re going to jam up anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh one last feature I forgot to show you, Karen,” he spoke to the boy’s AI (he had no idea why the teenager had settled on that name but it was his AI not Tony’s). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Mr. Stark,” the AI replied, turning on a heater in the suit and Peter let out a pleased sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you mentioned that you have trouble thermoregulating, so this should help balance it out a bit,” Tony reached into his pocket pulling out his wallet handing out a fifty dollar bill to the teenager. “Here, take this, you said you burn up a lot more calories when you’re using your powers, don’t want to see a news report about some red spandex guy who passed out and fell off a building.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is way too much, Mr. Stark,” he tried to give the cash back to the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Pete, billionaire, remember? If you don’t use it all then you can buy someone else a meal that needs it,” he held up his hands refusing to take the cash back and watched as the teenager pocketed it. “And we’re just doing a short trial run because we’re taking things slow and you still haven’t finished that history report. You picked out an area to patrol?” He asked the teenager who nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I know a few blocks that could use some help that aren’t too far from here,” Peter nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, then I’ll call Happy and we can have a pick up and drop off location,” he nodded, pulling out his phone. It was really the first time he was letting the kid leave the Tower on his own since the Hydra incident and to be honest it still rattled the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he had talked to Rhodey privately, discussing if he thought it was better if he pulled Peter out of school and just homeschooled him until they could weaken the organization more. Rhodey had admitted while well intentioned, it would probably backfire on the man. He pointed out that restricting the kid’s freedom too much might remind him of being back in Hydra and may make it more likely for him to take stupid risks just to gain back some of that freedom. Pepper had reasoned with him that while they couldn’t bubble wrap the kid, they could take the necessary precautions in keeping him safe like the watch that doubled as a tracker. Still neither of them knew that he was now enabling a thirteen year old kid to run around in spandex and fight crime. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s alright, Mr. Stark, you don’t need to call Happy, besides, he’s always complaining that he’s super busy,” Peter argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Are you going to take the subway dressed like this? I know New York has seen a lot of strange things, but this doesn’t exactly seem like you’ll be laying low,” Tony reasoned with the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, I mean, just don’t worry, Mr. Stark,” the kid grinned under his mask as he started to back out towards the balcony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing Pete?” The man asked, raising his eyebrow as he followed the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for the suit, I’ll promise I’ll be home in time for dinner,” he called back to the man. “Maybe Mexican tonight?” He suggested to the man before breaking into a run to gain a bit of speed, having been tempted to do this for years, but was always too scared. This newfound freedom that came with the protection of a reliable suit and mask finally tipping the scale in the direction of taking a risk as he flung himself off the balcony aiming his web shooter at the next building after free falling for a few seconds, letting gravity take control. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony ran after the teenager, his heart pounding as he was calling for part of his suit to go jump after the idiot not sure what had gotten into him. “Peter,” he cried out desperately as if that would will the boy to come back up on the balcony. Maybe he had given Peter too much space in dealing with the emerging Hydra threat and should’ve forced him to talk to him instead of allowing him to focus on a new mission and just distract himself. But when he reached the metal rail, gripping it until his knuckles turned white as he leaned over the edge he no longer saw the red and blue spandex. His head shot up as out of the corner of the eye he saw someone waving on the next Tower. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes focused on the figure and he realized that it was Peter waving from the building across from Stark Tower, and his pulse started to calm down as he tried to figure out how Peter got there so quickly before watching the kid jump off the building again and quickly swing to the next one using his web shooters. Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead. Of course the kid would find the most dangerous way to get to his patrol.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony turned around, keeping Peter’s vitals displayed on his Starkpad as he walked back inside trying to calm his mind after seeing his kid fling himself off the balcony for fun. He wasn’t sure when they had crossed the line from Peter to being a kid to his kid, but he knew for sure that the line had been crossed. The sheer terror of not being able to see this teenager’s bright face or hear his excited rambles haunted the man. He didn’t think that he could bear losing this kid from his life, not after everything that had happened with the Avengers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony knew he was using the kid as a bit of a crunch to help him heal but at the same time it was giving Peter a stable home. Protection he desperately needed. Pepper was a good influence on creating some sort of stability and Tony made sure the teenager had three square meals a day. He had to admit that their living situation may be unusual and may not be the best for Peter. He was sure that there were more qualified parental figures, but he was at least giving the kid something. And Peter seemed like he smiled a lot more these days. That had to be a good sign? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter on the other hand was having a grand time swinging from building to building, basking in the privilege of his anonymity for once. He didn’t need to worry about being Peter Parker, because only Tony knew who he was under the mask. He let out another joyous whoop as he did a backflip landing on the roof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just beginning to get dark as he watched people start to trickle home from a day of relaxing at the library or park. He turned up the heater in his suit when he felt a particularly strong gust of wind hit him. Peter swung his feet back and forth as he sat on the roof’s edge trying to figure out what to do next. According to the clock, he still had another two hours before he needed to be back at the Tower for dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His ears perked up when he heard small whimpers from the alley on the other side of the building and he rushed to check it out. There he saw two men, one pushed up against the brick wall by the other as the smaller man pleased, “Please, this was my grandpa’s watch, it’s not worth much I swear, what if I got money from the ATM?” He negotiated as the larger man was patting him down, trying to find the man’s wallet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter’s blood started to pump through his body when he realized that this was his chance to do something good. But seeing the knife being held to the smaller man’s neck, he had to be precise. Carefully, he aimed his web shooters before - THWIP. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The web shot down into the alley, attaching itself to the knife and yanking it out of the man’s grip before Peter managed to discard it on the roof where he was perched at. “Hey man,” he called down before dropping down in between the two knocking the mugger away from the smaller man. “You know if you really needed a watch tonight, Target is still open.” He dodged a punch that the mugger had lazily aimed, still dazed by the whole situation. He managed to aim his shooters again, catching the man’s right arm and sticking him to the wall. “I don’t think this belongs to you though,” he scooped up the watch that the mugger had dropped in the scuffle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no,” Peter murmured as he walked back to the smaller man who was still staring at him wide eyed. “I’m sorry, I think the glass cover got scratched,” he offered it back to the man who was still breathing hard from the encounter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-It’s a-alright,” he stuttered at Peter, eyes flicking between the masked vigilante and the mugger. “The inscription on the back’s the more important thing,” he tried to explain as he slipped the watch into the pocket, still spooked that someone may try and slip it off his wrist again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I should’ve been more careful,” Peter apologized before pulling out the fifty that Tony had given it to him before offering it to the man. When he didn’t see the young man reach out and take it he slipped it in his sweatshirt pocket. “Uh, hopefully that will help you get it fixed,” he explained awkwardly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-Thank you,” the guy stuttered again, still processing what was happening.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need any help getting home?” Peter asked cheerfully, ignoring the mugger cursing at him before he shot a web at him to quiet the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I should be good, I live right around the corner,” he shakily pointed to the apartment building. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll keep an eye on you just until you get inside,” he picked up the man’s grocery bag that had been tossed to the side, making sure nothing had fallen out of it before offering it to the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This really means a lot to me,” the man explained looking at Peter as he accepted the groceries. “My grandfather died a month ago, this watch just makes it feel like he isn’t really gone. I’ll tell him about you the next time I visit his grave.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry man, that’s really rough,” Peter tried to reassure the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I ask who to say saved my watch?” The man asked curiously having never heard of a vigilante with a spider emblem on his chest before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can say it was Spider-Man,” Peter smiled back at him. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And we've got Spider-Man!!!! I hope that it made somewhat sense of why Peter decided to take this risk despite knowing the consequences of being caught by the wrong people!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After that first patrol, Peter was hooked. He kept asking Tony to spend more and more time out on patrol. While it was difficult to say no to Peter’s wide brown eyes, he knew that this vigilantism could quickly overtake his life if he didn’t set some limits. Of course he was proud of the work that Peter was doing. The teenager would come home rambling, just as excited to talk about a stray cat that he saved from a tree as he was about helping a lost kid get home. He was impressed by Peter’s heart and the fact that he didn’t trivialize smaller problems, knowing that even the small things could build up over time or ruin someone’s day. </p><p>But he had set limits, only allowing Peter to patrol on two school days per week and one evening on the weekend. While sometimes Peter pushed back on these limits, he was a good kid who listened to Tony’s rationale regarding these restrictions. It hit him hard when he saw Peter’s face after watching the news the next day and learning there was someone that he couldn’t save. But he also recognized that Peter needed to learn the lesson that he couldn’t save everyone. It was one that Tony still struggled with, but it was a reality in their line of work. Allowing the kid to dig himself deeper into this “hero world” would only drag him further into a pit of never ending guilt.</p><p>So the best that Tony could do was to try and distract the kid so that he wouldn’t spiral down this hole. They still had formal internship lab sessions the other three days of the week, but he found himself disappearing down to the lab more often on the weekends just to work on side projects with the kid. The teenager was working on adapting his web fluid formula to act as a quick forming bandage that was light to carry around and was cheap to manufacture for EMTs. So they had spent countless evenings now both fiddling with their new tech until Happy or Pepper reminded them that they actually needed to eat. </p><p>After dinner, Peter would do his homework, usually out in the living room since he strangely had found his bedroom to be too quiet, his windows practically soundproof from the New York chatter. While that was convenient when he was falling asleep, he found it too silent during the day and much preferred to be sprawled out on the floor listening to Pepper’s typing at the dining room table and Tony’s muttering under his breath as he worked on the couch. </p><p>Because of Tony and Pepper’s schedules, it was a rare occasion that the three of them had a free evening on the weekends which is why Tony had stressed to Peter that he needed to be home by six that night to de-grease after his patrol but before Pepper got home. Tony still hadn’t come up with a way to approach the conversation that he was supporting a teenage vigilante. So he just kept putting it off (at one point the kid would turn 18 and then surely she couldn’t get angry with him anymore). Tony looked up from the couch when he heard the quiet landing of Peter on the balcony, watching him stroll into the penthouse, pulling off his mask.</p><p>“Hey kid, how was the patrol?” Tony asked, glancing up at the boy before turning his attention back to his Starkpad. “FRIDAY was picking up some weird readings from your suit,” he mentioned. </p><p>“Yeah I think I landed on the suit wrong or something, I may have broken some of its circuitry. KAREN was pretty quiet on the way home, I’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” Peter promised as he dropped down on the couch next to Tony, still catching his breath from swinging to the Tower. </p><p>“Mhhm, you stink kid,” Tony gently pushed him from the couch. “Go take a shower.” </p><p>Peter playfully rolled his eyes as he got up from the couch, “Alright, alright, I get the message,” he turned to head down the hallway to his bedroom. </p><p>Tony’s eyes focused in on something on the bright white couch where the kid had been sitting before his eyes trailed to Peter and widened, “Peter…..is that a knife in your side?”   </p><p>Peter’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked down twirling around trying to find what Tony was looking at before he saw the four inch knife sticking out of his side near his lower back, “Oh shit, I guess there is,” he replied calmly. </p><p>“Wait, you’re telling me you didn’t know that was there?” Tony asked slowly approaching the boy examining the damaged area, feeling a bit queasy when he saw the dried blood around the wound. </p><p>“Well it’s not like in the most convenient place,” he argued. “And it didn’t start hurting until you pointed it out,” he added before slapping Tony’s hand away from the knife’s handle. “Oh my god, don’t wiggle it!” </p><p>“I’m not wiggling it,” Tony shot back. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to take it out.” </p><p>“But the knife is what’s keeping all the blood on the inside,” he argued with Tony jumping back when he tried to take hold of it again. “Once you take it out, it’s going to look like a horror movie set in here,” he gestured to the living room. </p><p>“You think that I care if you stain my furniture when there’s a literal knife in your back” Tony asked, his voice increasing its panicked tone. </p><p>“Well I care about your reputation, which is going to be forever tainted when you pull a bloody couch to the curb,” Peter defended himself. </p><p>“So what do you suggest? That we keep it in you until you absorb it or something?” </p><p>“You really think I would absorb it?” Peter asked curiously looking up at Tony. </p><p>“No!” Tony yelled. “We don’t even know if that knife is rusty or something! Do you even have your tetanus shot?”  </p><p>“I don’t know,” Peter started to mimic Tony’s panicked voice. “I didn’t exactly grab my vaccine record when I was escaping Hydra. I kinda had a few other priorities at that point!” </p><p>“Come with me kid,” he guided the teenager by his shoulder down the hallway into his and Pepper’s bedroom before patting the bathroom counter, “Up you go, it’s easier to clean blood off tile than a white couch.” </p><p>“Should I be concerned that you know that?” Peter teased as he eased himself up onto the counter before he winced when he felt the knife shift. </p><p>“Really? You think now’s the time for jokes?” Tony asked as he pulled out his phone. </p><p>“No time better than the present,” he shrugged before he leaned against the mirror swinging his legs back and forth as Tony’s focus was on his phone screen. After a few minutes waiting, Peter’s curiosity overtook him and he leaned forward to see what Tony was reading, “Are you actually reading a wikihow article on how to take out a knife?” Peter asked, alarmed. </p><p>“Just doing some quick skimming,” Tony murmured back. </p><p>“It specifically says that a non-medically trained professional shouldn’t attempt this,” Peter protested. </p><p>“Well since you wanted to keep your spidey senses under wraps, we don’t really have any trained medical professionals around,” Tony argued, reaching out for the knife again. </p><p>“Mr. Stark, I think we should do a bit more research than a quick skim,” He scooted out of Tony’s arm reach. </p><p>“Relax kid, it’ll be over soon and I’ll get you patched up and give you like 500 shots,” Tony moved closer to Peter again. “It’s just like ripping off a bandaid.” </p><p>“That is a very poor metaphor! The bandaid’s not inside of me!” </p><p>“Well soon the knife isn’t going to be in you either, now just stay still,” Tony snapped as he cut off Peter’s escape. </p><p>“No, Mr. Stark,” Peter tried to fend off Tony’s efforts, resulting in an ensuing scuffle between the two of them, quietly arguing with each other before the sound of high heels hitting the tile floor echoed throughout the bathroom. </p><p>“What’s going on in here?” Pepper’s voice echoed off the bathroom as she stared at the two boys, the teenager still perched on the bathroom counter dressed from shoulders down in his red spandex suit, the mask discarded on the floor. </p><p>“Hey Pep,” Tony greeted, laughing nervously. “Um remember that time when I said that what you caught me doing wasn’t the worst thing you’ve caught me doing…” He trailed off nervously running a hand through his hair. “Look before you get mad-” </p><p>“Oh I’m way beyond mad,” she replied coolly. “I’m pissed,” she confirmed with him. </p><p>“Ok, well, while I understand that-” He started again trying to find the right words. “What you have to know is,” he tried again, scared by her icy glare. “Ok, I just want to first say that this wasn’t my idea to begin with-” </p><p>“Got it,” Peter’s voice cut over Tony’s as he victoriously held up the small bloody knife that he had taken upon himself to pull out of the suit as Tony had stumbled through his words. </p><p>“A bit more warning next time,” Tony’s face paled as he rushed over pressing the closest towel to the wound to help stem its bleeding. </p><p>“Definitely better than trying this on the couch,” Peter agreed with Tony as he leaned against the man who was to figure out if he needed stitches or not.  </p><p>“Shit kid, this is a lot of blood,” Tony kept folding the towel when the blood was spreading out on it. His hands were shaking as he regretted not dragging Peter downstairs and calling in a real medical professional to take care of this situation. </p><p>“That’s because you’re not using gravity in this situation and making it worse,” Pepper cut in, taking the towel from Tony’s hand. “Lean on me, we’re getting you off the sink,” she told the boy in a no nonsense voice. Peter allowed Pepper to manage most of his weight as he slid off the counter of the sink, and Pepper helped him lie down on his stomach on the cool tile floor. She slid a clean towel under Peter’s head to make him more comfortable. “Are you just going to stand there?” She snapped at Tony. </p><p>“Uh, what do you need me to do?” He asked awkwardly, still staring at the kid’s blood on his hands. </p><p>“Maybe you should’ve actually gotten a medical kit before you attempted to pull a knife out of a fourteen year old,” she argued. “There’s one in the closet, along with the numbing cream, I’m going to need both.” </p><p>Tony nodded rushing off down the hallway to grab the requested supplies for his fiance. “Sorry, Ms. Potts,” Peter apologized to her softly. “It really was my idea not Tony’s,” he tried to deflect the blame from the man. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” </p><p>She sighed brushing back some of his curls from his forehead. “I know you didn’t, Peter, still I think I prefer my Peter without a side of blood.” </p><p>He grinned gently up at her. “I do too,” he nodded. “I’ll clean this up, promise,” he murmured. </p><p>“We’ll make Tony do it,” she decided as Tony came rushing back into the room with the requested supplies. </p><p>“What are you making me do? You know just so I’m aware,” Tony asked as Pepper worked on cutting open the suit so she could more clearly see the area of the wound before applying the numbing cream generously to the area. </p><p>“Cleaning up my abstract art,” Peter gestured to the blood leaking out on the tile. </p><p>“Lovely, just what I want to do on my Saturday night,” he sighed. Pepper gave him a cold stare before working quietly to stitch up the wound. Luckily the knife had been relatively small so Pepper was finished within five minutes, bandaging it up. </p><p>Tony helped Peter stand up, making sure the kid wasn’t swaying on his feet due to the blood loss. He had been quiet throughout the entire process, but he had seen the kid bite his lip a few times not wanting to let the adults know how much pain he was in. “I want you to go get something to eat, lots of sugar and iron,” Pepper instructed Peter. “Maybe one of the spinach smoothies.” </p><p>The woman watched the teenager’s nose crinkle up before nodding obediently, “Yes ma’am.” </p><p>“Then go take a shower, but try to stay clear of the bandaged area. I’m probably going to need to replace them before you go to sleep though,” she reasoned. </p><p>Peter gave her another nod. “Come on kid,” Tony clasped his shoulder to guide him out of the bedroom. </p><p>“Not quite, Tony,” Pepper’s voice cut over. “FRIDAY will let us know if you need any help, Peter,” she told the duo who exchanged a glance before Tony nodded dismissing Peter who quietly closed the door behind him. </p><p>“Soundproof the room, FRIDAY,” Pepper instructed clearly, not wanting Peter to overhear this conversation by accident. Since Peter had confessed his powers to Tony, Pepper had worried about how many private conversations he had accidentally overhead, but the teenager hadn’t indicated one way or another. </p><p>“How long?” She asked Tony bluntly. </p><p>“A few months,” Tony murmured to her, not meeting her eyes. </p><p>“Months?” She exclaimed.</p><p>“I mean it’s only a few times a week,” Tony quickly backtracked. “And he just wants to help people, make the world a better place,” he sighed. “Look, I know you’re pissed,” Tony started after washing the blood off his hands and closing the door to the bathroom so he wouldn’t need to look at the kid’s blood during this conversation and have a physical reminder of what had happened just a few minutes ago. “But the kid wanted to keep his identity on the down low and just wanted to help people, I know I should’ve probably let you know,” he started to ramble. </p><p>“I’m not pissed that you didn’t tell me about this, well I am to a certain extent,” she amended. “But it’s clear that you’re enabling him to put his life at risk.” </p><p>“Pepper, he gets cats out of trees and helps people find hot meals usually, it’s really not that exciting, this is the first time that he’s gotten hurt,” Tony tried to argue. </p><p>“The first time that he’s gotten hurt to your knowledge,” she corrected him. </p><p>“I mean I have all this monitoring equipment in his suit,” Tony defended himself, trying to grab his Starkpad to show her. “And I knew that something weird had gone on with it this evening so I checked with him as soon as he had gotten back.” </p><p>“So you didn’t even know he had gotten stabbed?” She cut him off. “What if he hadn’t made it back to the Tower?” </p><p>“I would’ve gone out in my suit to look for him, I had his location at all times!” </p><p>“That’s not the point, Tony!” She exclaimed. “The point is there are times in this kind of work in which even going to look for him would be too late. And he’s clearly not just saving cats out of trees if he’s coming back to the Tower stabbed.” </p><p>“We just need to work on making the suit stronger, maybe try a different material for it,” Tony reasoned. “He’s been brilliant at working on it with me. He made these web shooter things and developed this formula when he was ten years old! It’s not perfect, but Pepper you should see his face when he comes back from a patrol after he’s just helped someone. His face just lights up.” </p><p>“He’s a thirteen year old,” she snapped back at him. “I don’t care how much you two are bonding when you are working on his suit or how happy he gets after coming back from whatever he does, you are enabling him to put his life in danger.” </p><p>“I’m monitoring him, Pep, constantly,” he stressed.</p><p>“He still got hurt Tony! I still had to give him stitches! God,” she rubbed her forehead. “I can’t believe you are using him for this. I thought that having him around was good for you, gave you something else to focus on, but now seeing you use him for this…” She trailed off shaking her head. </p><p>“Using him exactly for what?” He asked in a low voice. </p><p>“As a replacement for the team! For Steve!” She argued cutting him off before he could counter that statement. “You’re making him tech, obviously encouraging him to go out and putting him in danger. You can’t do that anymore because you never wanted to go solo, but you’ve got a new superhero project to focus on so you’re using him to cope! What? Tell me honestly that you weren’t going to offer him a place on the Avengers?” </p><p>“I wasn’t,” he argued with her. “And I’m not using him as a crutch! You don’t see me going on patrols with him and you know that that is a low blow. This is completely different, he’s just helping out some people in New York! He knows he’s staying low to the ground and that’s what he wants, it’s not like I’m training him or anything.” </p><p>“You started out just helping people too, trying to clean up your mistakes and now you’re this,” she gestured to him. “What happens when he gets bored too?” </p><p>“He’s not going to get bored! This is just a fluke, I’ll set up some more guidelines so it won’t happen again.” </p><p>“You’re not even going to try and stop him after tonight?” She snapped at him. “You’re just patching him up and practically pushing him out the window again!” </p><p>“He’s going to want to get back out there again, Pep. I’m just trying to support him, what else am I supposed to do!” </p><p>“You tell him no,” Pepper countered. “You start treating him like he’s your kid not your best friend. You don’t give him a suit and hide things from your fiancee because you know that she would disapprove and you don’t patch him up and just send him on his way!”</p><p>“I’m not treating him like my best friend, but I’m not going to lock him away in the damn Tower like Rapunzel,” he shot back. “I’ve got all this monitoring and his best interests at the center.” </p><p>“His best interests?” She questioned him. “If you really had that in mind you would’ve called him a doctor, not tried to take the knife out yourself!” </p><p>“He hates doctors! He’s just too polite to tell you otherwise, but you didn’t see him have a near panic attack when I took him to get a check up with Cho! And I think that’s a bit understandable as doctors have been cutting him open his whole life without his permission!” </p><p>“Then you get him therapy with an actual licensed professional, not whatever you think this is doing for him!” She shouted at him. “That would be in his best interests, not letting him run around in a onesie trying to ignore his trauma.” </p><p>Tony took a step forward, lowering his voice to try and diffuse the situation, “You’re honestly telling me that you think that kid out there would open up to a complete stranger and tell them about the most shitty and vulnerable moments of his life?” He asked sitting on the bed hearing her scoff. “No, really, because I think that we’re talking about two different kids here, because the kid that I know hasn’t trusted an adult since his Dad died because everyone else just wants to use him. No one has given a damn to what he wanted saying that it was for his best interests and for the greater good.” </p><p>“Tony, I get you want to listen to him, but this is putting him in danger. We’re supposed to be protecting him from that,” Pepper reasoned taking a seat next to Tony. </p><p> “Sending him to school every day puts him in a certain amount of danger, but I don’t see you arguing against that,” Tony countered. “Look, it’s not all about trust, it’s about allowing him to have some say over his life, and not just what he wants to eat for breakfast but the big things,” he swallowed hard. “That’s the one of the things that haunted me the most in Afghanistan, not having that choice over my actions and purpose,” he quietly admitted to her. “And I was only there for three months, he was there for almost ten years, I can’t even imagine that,” he choked up and felt Pepper’s calming hand rubbing circles on his back. </p><p>“The point is if we keep steam rolling him, do you think he’ll ever give us that trust? The kind that we really need to help him heal. Half the mornings, I wake up terrified that that kid has left overnight because I spooked him or said the wrong thing,” he rubbed his eyes. “And he’s not going to trust us if we don’t trust his decision making to a certain extent. He was going to do this regardless, this was the safest way, Pep.” </p><p>She was quiet for a moment before she sighed, “You sure we can’t bribe him or something to get him to hang it up?” </p><p>“Kid’s too good to fall for a trick like that,” he said with a small smile. “He’s a really good kid, Pep,” he finished.  </p><p>“I know he is,” she replied, taking one of his hands and squeezing it. “That’s what scares me so much, he’s like you like that he cares so much about others that he forgets about himself.”  </p><p>“Does that mean you’re not mad at me then?” He tried, grinning up at her. </p><p>“Absolutely not, I’m still pissed at you,” Pepper immediately replied. “I’m going to be holding this over your head for quite some time.” </p><p>Tony groaned, leaning against her enjoying this quiet moment between the two of them in their often chaotic lives. But a comment in the back of the head kept sticking with him. “He reminds me of Steve sometimes, the best parts of him.” </p><p>“Yeah?” She asked softly. </p><p>“You know I give him money each time to get himself something to eat when he’s out patrolling, but every time he just goes and buys a ton of food for people that are homeless, like a damn mobile soup kitchen,” he snorted. “And he doesn’t care if his patrol is just walking people home or giving someone directions, he just likes the helping.”  </p><p>“We’ve got a pretty damn special kid, don’t we?” she asked him. </p><p>“Yeah,” he trailed off chewing his lip, a mannerism that he had picked up from Peter. “While we’re clearing the air, you know, things like that,” he rambled. </p><p>“Tony?” She raised an eyebrow trying to get him to just come out with his point. </p><p>“I’ve been looking into adoption. Um, for Peter, not some random kid, just for Peter,” he blurted out to her. “It’s a bit complicated because you know, legally he’s dead and I don’t want the wrong people finding out and I’ve been working with SHIELD to make sure that Peter has immunity for whatever Hydra forced him to do because I don’t want them to sabotage it like that,” he continued. “And I have to go through all these background checks and training first so I don’t know how fast things would go.” </p><p>“Adoption, wow,” her eyes widened at that declaration. “That’s a big step, Tony. It’s years of commitment and things might not always be as smooth as things are right now.”</p><p>“I know, Pep, but he’s a good kid like you said. He deserves to have someone sticking up for him permanently, and I know I might not be the best candidate, but that’s why I’m going to take these classes. I want to be better for him and you know ultimately the choice is up to him. If he likes how things are or wants to just get emancipated or something, then that’s how I’ll support him.” </p><p>Pepper took a deep breath before choosing her words wisely, “I think that is a wonderful gesture Tony, but if we are bringing him legally back from the dead, shouldn’t we let his family know? Didn’t he mention that he thought he had an aunt and uncle in the city?” </p><p>Tony’s gut fell at that thought. He hadn’t even considered that the adoption could be contested. Sure he had anticipated maybe some challenge to his competence as a parent, but he hadn’t even considered that Mary and Richard Parker’s will would have laid out a different guardian for Peter. The boy spoke so little about his family. “He said that he was terrified if he contacted them, that they would become easy targets for Hydra,” Tony informed Pepper. “I think that if the threat of Hydra is still there, he wouldn’t want to reach out to them. And I’m trying to work as fast as I can but clearing up the threat against Hydra could take years and I don’t want the kid to just be sitting in limbo for years.” </p><p>“But if Hydra was gone?” </p><p>He sighed, “If it clears up soon, then yeah, they get first dibs, whatever is best for Peter, I mean they’re his family,” he spoke in a tight voice. </p><p>“Then I think that you are doing this for the right reason, Tony, and anything that I can do to support you, I will,” she promised him. </p><p>“Should I tell him about it?” He asked looking up at her. </p><p>She considered it for a moment before deciding, “I think it’s best to hold off until things are looking a bit more solid. Like you said, Peter’s case is a bit more complicated, you don’t want him worrying about something that may or may not happen.” </p><p>“You’re right,” Tony nodded. “Once we get to the point where Peter actually has a choice, I’ll tell him,” he promised. </p><hr/><p>Slowly, winter had melted to spring and Tony no longer felt the need to bundle the teenager up in three layers before sending him off to school (Peter had drawn the line when Tony had tried to wrap a second scarf around his neck). But even as the weather became more pleasant and the summer was starting to approach with the promise of much more free time for Peter, Tony couldn’t deny that he was becoming increasingly worried about the amount of time the kid was spending around the Tower. </p><p>Don’t get Tony wrong, the kid always brightened his mood when he was around but after Rhodey had made one too many comments of never seeing Tony in the lab without Peter, he was starting to come to the conclusion that maybe the kid needed another outlet. I mean he got along great with himself, Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy, but all of them had at least thirty years on Peter. The teenager had never asked to go out to the movies or to someone’s house, it was just school, Tower, or patrol. The parenting books (which he had kept hidden from everyone) had stressed how easy it was for teenagers to become overworked and burnt out and that he needed to make time for the kid to relax. Of course they had movie nights, but Tony was worried about how lonely Peter was at school, there every day for eight hours without anyone to really joke around with. At least none to his knowledge. </p><p>So when he had gotten the e-mail from Peter’s school, he thought it was the perfect opportunity for the teenager to try something new and maybe find a friend or two he could hang out with over the summer. “Catch,” Tony threw over a bag of goldfish for Peter to take as a snack. He had started packing the kid’s backpack with snacks to make sure that the kid ate throughout the day, knowing how fast his metabolism ran. </p><p>Peter caught the bag without even looking as he continued to read at the breakfast bar, working on his second bowl of cereal. “You know you already shoved a granola bar and two packs of fruit snacks into my backpack?” He reminded the man as he worked on packing the third snack into his bag. </p><p>“Yeah, but you need extra snacks for today, got an e-mail from your school,” he told Peter leaning across from him on the breakfast bar as he took a sip of his coffee. </p><p>“What?” Peter asked alarmed, his head shooting up. “Am I in trouble? I swore I turned in everything on time,” he quickly defended himself. </p><p>“No, those types of e-mails more often come in the form of a phone call,” the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. “Believe me, I sat through many of those. No, this is from the parent’s mailing list.” </p><p>“You’re on the parent’s mailing list?” Peter raised his eyebrow. </p><p>“Yes, Pepper said I needed to be on it in case anything relevant came up, and low and behold something did. You saw that there was a student activities fair after school probably?” </p><p>“Yeah…” Peter trailed off unsure where Tony was going with this. </p><p>“I want you to go to the fair and sign up for two groups that you’re going to check out next week, and actually check out, not just go and sit in the corner but I want you to give them a chance,” Tony told him bluntly. </p><p>“With what time?” Peter laughed at the suggestion. “You’re being serious?” He asked the man who nodded. “Mr. Stark, I’m busy all the time after school with the internship and patrolling, I don’t exactly have loads of free time.” </p><p>“We can rearrange and cut back on some things,” Tony reasoned with him. </p><p>“But I don’t want to cut back on things,” Peter countered. <br/>“Bud, you’ve got to take a chance and reach out to some people your age,” he admitted to the teenager. “You might find that you even like to hangout with them more than forty year olds.”  </p><p>“And what if I just like hanging out with you and Ms. Potts more?” He countered to the man stubbornly. </p><p>“I highly doubt that’s true,” he snorted. “You just need to give them a chance on these things. I know it can feel scary at first to take a chance and reach out to someone, but if you go through a club at least you have something to talk about,” Tony explained calmly. </p><p>“You think I’m just not reaching out to anyone?” Peter asked, reeling back from Tony. </p><p>“Well, do you have any evidence to the contrary?” Tony asked calmly. “I mean do you try and talk to other kids at school or join a lunch table? I know you’re constantly carting a book around,” he taped the book in front of the teenager. </p><p>“I eat with others!” He defended himself. </p><p>“But do you talk to them, Peter?” Tony interrogated the teenager and saw him look to the side. “You need a better poker face kid,” he teased him lightly. </p><p>“I don’t want to join any stupid clubs,” Peter snapped not taking lightly to Tony’s teasing. “I’m happy with how things are right now.” </p><p>“Just because you’re happy with how things are right now, doesn’t mean things can’t be better,” Tony reminded him. “I want you to give it a try, Peter, an actual effort, you might find that the clubs aren’t so stupid. You’re going to have a lot more free time over the summer.” </p><p>“Did I mess something up in the lab or something? Is that why you’re pushing for this?” He asked sharply. </p><p>“It has nothing to do what you are doing at the internship, this is just what I think is best for you,” Tony sighed. </p><p>“Well I didn’t ask you to guess what is best for me, because I know what’s best for me,” he snapped, pulling his backpack off the counter and shrugging it on. </p><p>“Sometimes it’s hard for all of us to see what’s best for ourselves, that’s why we need others to help each other out,” Tony tried diplomatically. </p><p>“Well you could butt your “help” out of my business,” he snapped at the man. “I’m going to be late,” he started off towards the elevator. </p><p>“Peter,” Tony raised his voice. “You are going to go to the student activity fair and pick out two activities you are going to try and we’ll have a longer discussion about this later. Is that understood?” </p><p>Tony watched as Peter’s back was turned to him standing in front of the elevator before he saw a silent nod from the boy. “Good, Happy will be there to pick you up after it ends,” he told the boy before watching him storm off downstairs and Tony sighed. This was the first time that he had tried setting down a rule for Peter that hadn’t entirely dealt with his safety and this was his reaction? Tony thought he had been making some sort of progress with the amount of trust that Peter gave him in terms of his well-being but it was clear that they still had a lot of work to do. </p><p>As soon as the elevator’s doors had closed on him, Peter allowed a single tear to fall from his eyes, quickly wiping it with the back of his sleeve. Tony thought it was so easy for Peter just to make friends, that all he needed to do was find the right activity and soon enough he would be popular. He didn’t get that kids his age already had their own cliques that didn’t exactly have a welcome sign. Especially since Peter was a fairly quiet kid in class, no one was rushing to be friends with him like the funny new kids. Why did Peter have to do all the heavy lifting with this? </p><p>He strode out of the elevator taking the back entrance to leave the Tower (he had started walking to school again when the weather was better and he could tell that Happy was getting more and more stressed vetting the new spring and summer interns). He kept his head down on the way to school, his thoughts still swirling. How dare Tony just assume what was best for him? It wasn’t like he was on a self destructive path. So what if he didn't have people to hang out with? Who would really want to hang out with him if they knew about his past or that he lied hiding from them? And he certainly couldn’t trust anyone his age not to just go blab about his spider abilities if they found out. No, he knew the best option, and it was safer like this. It wasn’t like Tony could really monitor him if he said anything in any of the club meetings. He couldn’t even show his face to Midtown without breaking Peter’s cover.  </p><p>Peter felt bad at snapping at Tony, but the man was overstepping his line, and did he really need to wait to order Peter to do something just before he headed off to school? He glanced down at his watch, groaning when he saw that he was going to be late unless he took a shortcut and reluctantly turned down an alley. At first it seemed like a dead end, but usually he could use his sticky fingers to pull him up onto the dumpster and then over the wall. He slid past the van parked there, still trying to come up with an argument for when he and Tony were going to talk to get out of these trial periods of these activities. Maybe if he chose something ridiculous like the cheer squad, Tony would just give up on him? Or Tony would turn full soccer mom and show up with a barrel of juice boxes? He started climbing up onto the dumpster before he felt a sharp pain on his neck, corresponding with a flare up in the back of his head. He twisted around finding a dart sticking out of his neck and he ripped it out. His heart rate was already spiking but his limbs felt like they were already slowing down. No, it couldn’t be, it had been almost a year since he had run, months from when the Hydra agent had shown up in the Tower. Why now? He needed to get somewhere public and quick. </p><p>He couldn’t see anyone in the alley, but then again he couldn’t really see anything properly right now as he stumbled off the dumpster heavily leaning against the brick wall as he tried to make his way to the lip of the alley. It had to be them. He knew that a usual dose of sedatives wouldn’t affect him like this. He would burn through it too quickly, and anything higher had the risk of killing the target. So it had to be someone aware of his biology. He tried making it past the van but something kept pushing him back. Lazily, he swung out as he tried to orient himself before he stumbled to the ground, scraping his chin against the pavement as he kept trying to push himself up before he felt another sharp pain in his neck and his limbs started feeling even heavier. </p><p>“There now, go to sleep, little spider,” a voice cooed above him as Peter couldn’t force his eyes to stay open.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for another cliffhanger!!! How are you guys liking the pace of the story so far? Also if you got an alert for this chapter/ last chapter, let me know, it took a while for mine to come in so I was worried it never went out!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry that I left you with a cliffhanger and took a bit more time writing this chapter! I was starting to run out of steam for this fic so I took a few days off from writing, but once I got back into it, I felt refreshed and I'm excited that we're getting closer to the end!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tony’s cell phone didn’t ring often. His private line, the only one one he really cared about, was a guarded number that a few were privy to (certainly not a politician, those were always routed through FRIDAY which is how he had avoided Ross for so long). Now nearly half the people that had his cell phone number were on the run and weren’t particularly in the mood to talk with him. The other half were usually in the building with him and would either search for him directly when they needed him or Pepper had a way of intercomming him wherever he was (even he couldn’t find that route around in FRIDAY as Peter had helped her set it up). But by keeping access to Tony’s phone number to a select few it ensured that when it did ring, he made sure to pick it up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” He answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, is this Mr. Riley?” A woman asked on the other end of the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Tony was going to reply that she had the wrong number and work on FRIDAY to make sure he didn’t get any spam calls going through again, the name triggered a memory. It was the last name that Peter used at school (which he had updated himself to be the emergency contact of). “Uh, yeah, speaking,” he replied, trying to figure out why he was getting a call from Peter’s school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Rhonda from Midtown Tech. We’re just calling to check in since Peter didn’t show up to school this morning. I know parents can sometimes forget to call in when their kid is sick so we just wanted to call and make sure that everything was alright.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, what? Peter wasn’t at school? Did he really piss off the kid so much that the teenager had ditched? That wasn’t like Peter at all, but the two of them never really had a fight like that before. He had expected if Peter truly didn’t want to go to the fair he would just walk home and face the consequences of skipping it. He didn’t expect the kid to miss a whole day’s worth of school. Had he not noticed that something was off with Peter this morning? He didn’t know the kid’s parent’s birthdays or anything like that, But grief could bubble up in confusing ways, especially since Peter never really had a chance to work through it on his own. Maybe Tony had just triggered something and Peter had needed some air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Best he could was cover for the kid while he started to pull up a tracker in Peter’s backpack. “Yeah, so sorry, he got pretty sick in the middle of the night and I’ve just been running around making sure that it’s under control and trying to get his stomach to keep something down,” he smoothly lied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry to hear that, please tell Peter we all hope he feels better and he can make up his work whenever he feels up to it. His teachers should be able to e-mail the packets to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup, I’ll make sure to keep on top of that when he gets better,” Tony promised, trying to keep an even voice. “Thanks for the call,” he hung up, switching to text Happy that he needed him to bring the car around for him. He didn’t think that it would be especially the best plan to try to track a potentially volatile and traumatized teenager, while at the same time navigating through traffic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony pulled up the Peter’s backpack tracker on his phone as he made his way down from the lab. Sure maybe the kid didn’t know about this tracker unlike the one in his suit, but he knew how unpredictable Peter could be. Despite living together for over half a year now, there was still some distance between the two of them that Tony couldn’t figure out how to bridge. There were always secrets that Peter tried to hold back and protect Tony from (though Tony thought it should be the other way around). So Tony may have hidden a secret of two from Peter in return, such as the behind the scene adoption papers or this backpack tracker. It wasn’t like Tony had used it before (well he hadn’t needed to until today). And it wasn’t meant to be an invasion of privacy, just to keep him safe. Having an emotional teenager roaming around the streets of New York on his own just didn’t seem safe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So the kid ditched?” Happy asked as he met Tony downstairs in the garage as the man strode towards one of the cars. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it,” Tony replied. “At least he hasn’t gotten too far,” he shared the screen to show where the tracker had placed the kid. “Seems like he’s adopted another alley, doesn’t look like anything special, but could be something he’s not telling us,” Tony shrugged. “Might just be a place where he can hang low until things die down from the morning rush and he can sneak out to where he really wants to go without being stopped.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, he’s going to be pretty mad at you when you just show up there,” Happy pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hoping I can just diffuse the situation and corral him back towards the Tower where he can be pissed at me in, you know, a contained environment,” Tony reasoned with him as Happy anxiously pulled out into traffic. Tony kept flipping back to the tracker, steadily watching it to make sure that Peter didn’t make any radical decisions in locations where he wanted to ditch. Maybe he had been too harsh on Peter and that wasn’t the way to convince him. He thought that he could talk Peter into a second breakfast for the day at a cheap diner and they could discuss why Tony’s request had bothered the teenager so much.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy was able to park near the lip of the alley where the tracker had pinpointed the teenager. Tony climbed out of the car, making sure his sunglasses were secured as the last thing he wanted at the moment was to be recognized when he was just trying to help his kid out. Especially since it was rare for him and Peter to go out together. They had almost everything they wanted in the Tower and they could always get takeout which avoided any stares in a restaurant. Though he had the flirting idea of flying the kid out to Malibu for part of the summer in order to let the kid run wild on a private beach for a few weeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony rounded the corner expecting to see his kid curled up, maybe hiding behind the dumpster like when he first found him, but when he saw an empty alley, he frowned. He walked into the alley a bit further looking from side to side and checking the roofs above too because it wasn’t out of the question for Peter to be perched on one of them. “Where’s the kid?” Happy asked following in after the man. “You don’t think he hacked into the system to mess with you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he had found out and didn’t want me to know, he could’ve just left it back in the Tower, not make us go on this kind of a goose chase. Go and see if you can find the bag, maybe he just stored it here for a bit,” Tony reasoned, though he had a growing bad feeling in his gut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy took the Starkpad from Tony trying to figure out where the tracker was in the alley. Maybe Peter had discovered it and discarded it, but that would make things a whole lot harder. From what Tony had told him, the kid was good at hiding when he really wanted. He walked over to the dumpster as that’s where it seemed like it lined up. The kid was going to owe him a new suit after this as he reached into the dumpster. Luckily, he felt the straps of the bags not too far down in between the bags of garbage. “Got it,” he reported back to Tony, glancing back and seeing him crouch, examining the pavement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bring it over here, Hogan, I gotta check something,” he spoke sharply, snapping his fingers and holding out his hand for the bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably needs a good amount of disinfect on it,” Happy held it out for Tony who quickly grabbed it and started to search through it for something, leaving Peter’s books sprawled out on the pavement before he pulled out two plastic wristlets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are those his-?” Happy started staring at them as Tony turned them over in his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Tony swallowed hard as he stared at Peter’s webshooters in his hand, the bad feeling in his stomach only growing. “You know he wouldn’t leave anywhere without them. Even if he wanted to just ditch us, he wouldn’t leave these behind.”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you think Peter just didn’t leave?” Happy asked nervously. “That he was like ambushed or something?” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony would need to run a test when he got back to the lab, but he knew in his gut that the fresh blood that he had found on the pavement was Peter’s. “Yeah,” Tony confirmed. “I think his past caught up with him.” </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Peter’s head was pounding when he woke up. He didn’t think that he had stayed up that late with Tony. They were just working in the lab and Tony for once had gotten tired so they turned in before midnight. That should’ve given him enough time to sleep before school. But every once in a while he had days in which his senses went a bit haywire, couldn’t cope with all the input. He hadn’t faced one of the days for quite some time, well before he moved in with Tony. Usually, he spent the day in bed, curled up and just letting his body reset itself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bet that Tony would be alright with allowing him to skip because of this, he just needed to let the man know. Peter groaned, before the argument that he recently had with Tony hit him straight in the face. He had never snapped at Tony like he had that morning and shame started to fill his gut. The man had asked him for something small just to test Peter’s comfort zone, and he had yelled that the man had no right in his business, after the man had housed and fed him for the past six months. But Peter couldn’t even remember going to the student activities fair. Maybe he had really skipped it like he had thought about?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that didn’t make sense. He couldn’t remember even going to school that day. It wasn’t like him just to skip a whole day. That was a surefire way to draw attention to himself. Why did everything feel so fuzzy to him? Like he wasn’t quite processing things at his top speed. Then, he felt the cold metal biting into his wrists, restraining them, and he gasped, his eyes shooting open.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t his bedroom back at the Tower. It didn’t have the sprawling view of the New York skyline directly across from Peter’s bed. Instead he was greeted by concrete walls. He looked to the left and there was one small room with a toilet and sink, along with a bucket to help him wash up, only separated from the rest of the room with a ratty old curtain. He knew the patches of that curtain by heart, had used it as a prop for years trying to keep himself entertained. His stomach sank even further when he saw the stack of textbooks in the corner of the room (rewards for cooperating for particularly difficult tests or small birthday treats from various scientists). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter tried twisting around on the cot, but he was finding it difficult to do so when his hands were locked behind him and chained to the bed frame. He tried using his legs to kick and give himself some leverage but found that they were also locked in place. All he could do was stare at the ratty old teddy bear that had been mockingly placed next to him on the cot.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt tears start to well in his eyes as he squeezed them shut to try and keep them at bay. He couldn’t be back with Hydra, back to square one, in the exact same cell. Not after how much he had sacrificed in order to get away from them. Why couldn’t they just get the message that he didn’t want to be their weapon anymore? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He struggled on the cot for the next few moments, trying to test the limits of the restraints. Maybe they hadn’t figured out that he had grown stronger as he had gotten older, especially with Mr. Stark constantly forcing second and third helpings of meals onto Peter’s plate. Did Tony even know that Peter was gone? He had no concept of how much time he had been knocked out for. He knew he would’ve been stripped of his phone before they even got him into the transport vehicle and had made fun of Mr. Stark’s idea of wearing a watch (calling it an old man’s device). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His enhanced hearing perked up when he heard footsteps nearing his cell, and he struggled to flip himself around on the bed so that he could anticipate whoever was coming. His heart was pounding when he heard the door to the cell unlock, quickly trying to wipe his tears on his pillow and steeling his face for whatever came next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could barely rearrange himself on the cot sprawled out at an awkward angle as footsteps approached his bed and he heard a man sigh. “This won’t do,” he shook his head. Peter’s brow furrowed as he didn’t recognize the voice at first before he grimaced when he felt the man’s grip dig into his curls, lifting his head off the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter let out a hiss of pain before the man spoke, “Scoot back, come on, I want to have a proper conversation and I don’t want to be bending over for the whole time.” When Peter didn’t initially respond, he felt the man tug harder on his hair. “Come on, I know you aren’t stupid,” he chided the boy as he gave the chains a bit more leeway and guided the boy to sit up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Peter met the man’s eyes, he couldn’t place them, other than maybe a vague recollection of the man escorting him back and forth from the cell. But it certainly wasn’t his old handler or Dr. Hoffman, the head scientist on his experiments. “That’s better,” he teased the boy, pulling over a simple wooden chair, turning it around and straddling it as his eyes combed over Peter greedily. “You’re progressing nicely, Peter, I’d have to say you grew another three or four inches if I’m correct since I last saw you? We’ll need to update our growth charts, I dare say you’re going to be taller-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you?” Peter asked bluntly, narrowing his eyes and trying to throw as much attitude into the question as possible, like when Tony did whenever he was on the phone with someone he disliked. If they thought they could just scare him into complying again, they had another thing coming. He knew his last escape was his only shot at having a normal life. So he might as well go out with guns blazing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you sir,” The man parroted back to him, leaning forward and waiting for the correction on Peter’s part, a dull rule that had been drilled into his head since he was seven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter stayed silent, shooting daggers at the man, but the restraints were too tight to let him duck out of the way when the man leaned over and backhanded the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you sir,” the man repeated as a warning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Piss off,” Peter instinctively countered, wincing as the man slapped him again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you sir,” he challenged the boy calmly waiting for his reaction and when he wasn’t quick enough, he changed tactics, punching Peter’s nose with a sickening crack, blood starting to gush from it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can do this all day, Peter, you’ll soon find out that I’m an incredibly patient man,” he informed the teenager watching him trying to get his bleeding under control, not caring how it was staining the sheets or how much pain the thirteen year old was in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now,” he held out a hand as if to prompt Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you sir,” he growled back at the man spitting some blood his way, but the man only smirked in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An improvement, very good, you did seem bright,” he taunted the boy. “I’m your new handler, obviously there was some room for improvement as you slipped under your old one’s grasp.” He watched the boy smile as if he was proud of his actions. The man would make it clear though that Peter would regret this little endeavor of his. “But actions have consequences and once you ran, a new employment opportunity opened up,” he smirked at the boy making it clear that even if the people running his experiment had changed leadership, the purpose was still very much the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t be surprised if your position would be open again soon, sir,” Peter hastily added onto the end, but trying to establish the attitude he was taking with the project, that he wasn’t going to make things easy for his handler.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember you when you were a little boy, Peter,” he changed the subject, not taking Peter’s bait. “You were so quiet, you knew exactly what your place was, you could’ve had a great life Peter, been rewarded handsomely for your hard work. You appeared to be the least likely experiment to run.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you mean hurting innocent people, that isn’t hard work-” Peter started shifting in his restraints. “Wait, you mean there’s more experiments? More kids like me?” He asked urgently</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cut off one head and two more grow in its place, children are especially pliable,” he replied vaguely. “However we are getting away from the point. It’s clear that you have made your choices and have shown your cards of where your loyalties now lie, playing Tony Stark’s lap dog, and I’m afraid that this time, things won’t be as easy or pleasant for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You called being locked in a room for years pleasant? Taking care of myself since I was seven easy?” Peter snapped, starting to get worked up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, you’re being dramatic Peter, you were housed, fed, we even gave you toys, look at this adorable little guy,” he scooped up the teddy bear shaking it side to side in front of Peter’s face. “I think he missed you, Petey,” he teased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get to call me that,” the teenager snapped at the Hydra agent.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed, tossing the bear to the side, “It was cute how you thought that you could run, but Spider-Man, really?” He stared at the boy even when the teenager was averting his gaze from the man. “You couldn’t have come up with something a little less obvious. I mean even your colors were flashy, like a sign inviting us to find you. I must admit that it made a bit more sense at why Agent Smith was compromised back in December when Stark had an inside man able to ward off any of our efforts.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think that I’m ever going to do the same thing that I used to do for you guys, or make you look like you’re doing your job successfully, then you’re mistaken,” he growled back at the Handler who reached forward squeezing Peter’s chin in between his grip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need your cooperation, well not for very long, let’s call this a transitional period, we’ll grab a baseline of your vitals, monitor your progress,” he listed off, not allowing the boy to tear his face away from his grip. “And be kept on a very very short leash,” he warned the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then?” Peter prompted him. He felt the man’s fingers dig into his cheek. “Sir,” he grunted out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you’ll get your memory wiped and your own set of trigger words implanted, and you’ll be back on track to being the perfect weapon. See I would’ve already had them start on them, but we’ve tried implanting them in our younger subjects and they’ve had some, well adverse effects. Better not to take that risk with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Winter Soldier broke out of the trigger words,” Peter spat back at him though his fear was growing at the thought of forgetting his family. Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We also implanted his trigger words in the late 50s, you don’t think that our research hasn’t evolved since then? Come on, you’re a man of science, Peter,” he brushed off the kid’s protests. “Besides, he had assistance from someone who knew him from the past, who do you think is going to help you, Stark?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Peter’s eyes narrowed at that comment. He knew that Tony wouldn’t just let him disappear when he didn’t show up for school. He could only hope that Tony didn’t think he had just run off and would check the base that Peter described first. I mean were they really stupid enough to think that Peter wouldn’t talk to anyone about where he had been held? Especially an Avenger who was a threat to Hydra. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awww, you really think that he’s going to come looking for you? That’s sweet,” Peter’s handler laughed at the boy. “You’re just so desperate for someone to give you some sort of attention, that you’ll cling onto a false idol.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark isn’t a false anything,” Peter quickly defended the man, straining against the </span>
  <span>chains. “He’s better than everyone here. He actually helps people, not just tears things apart.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, you know we aren’t just tearing things apart, we are instilling order, some just aren’t ready to accept that, including your pathetic Mr. Stark,” he mocked the boy. “Did you tell him about everything you did for us? How you were such a good weapon, little spider?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t my fault,” he quickly countered, seeing through what the man was trying to do and rooting himself in the long conversations he would have with Tony about reconciling his guilt from his childhood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that what he told you? When you told him about the people you hunted down for us? The damage you spread? Did you even tell him about Sarah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, shut up,” Peter snapped at the man as the memories of that night came flooding back in. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get his breathing under control. When he had nightmares it was almost always about her. How he had been tasked to capture her, using his web shooters for one of the first times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought it would be like every other mission, He wouldn’t ever need to see the results of his job, just get sent back to his room where he could fiddle around with his web fluid formula or go through his text books for the hundredth time. But Dr. Hoffman had called him into his office and like the naive eleven year old he had complied. He said that they needed to get the woman on their side and that Peter would get her acclimated to Hydra. Peter knew that it wasn’t as simple as that, but if he could get the woman to understand that it was best to just stay in line, he could save her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he had spent the week trying to convince her that it was best just to give her the information that they wanted. Peter had learned a few things about her. That her name was Sarah. She had graduated with a PhD in child psychology a few years back. That she had a dog named Elmo and was engaged to a woman named Laura. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been horrified when she had learned it was the sweet eleven year old that offered to share half of his meals with her that had captured her. He had told her about his parents, showing her how he could stick to the ceiling. But no matter what he said, he couldn’t change her mind, that she wouldn’t be a part of his experiments that held him under their thumb. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the end of the week, they had dragged her out of the cell, Peter begging his handler to give him more time, to prove that he could do this. But when she had refused again, his handler had shoved a gun in Peter’s hands and ordered the boy to kill for the first time. The boy kept shaking his head no, refusing to complete the task before his handler lost his patience with the boy wrapping his hands over Peter’s forcing him to pull the trigger. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter had been too shocked to really do anything in response as they guided him back to his cell and it was only days later when he found a paper swan that Sarah had taught Peter to make out a spare piece of paper that he had really started planning his escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does Stark know you’re a killer or did you leave that out when you were spilling all of our secrets? That Sarah’s blood is on your hands?” He laughed knowing that the woman was a sore spot for the boy. He had been there when it had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter couldn’t let them know that this was something he hadn’t worked himself up to tell Tony about. Since the man was aware of the massive amount of guilt that Peter still carried with him, he had tried not to push Peter to tell him about what happened at Hydra. He had instead let the boy come to him when a nightmare haunted him, wrapped up in two blankets and sipping a mug of hot chocolate. But he hadn’t worked up the courage to talk about Sarah to Tony quite yet. He always felt nauseous thinking about her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every other mission had left Peter without truly seeing the consequences, but this was the first time he saw the reality of these jobs. Sarah had always felt different to Peter. Despite Tony sticking by his side for months, he wasn’t sure how the knowledge of this incident would change how Tony saw him. Would he see Peter as a killer and not just a scared little boy? He had tried to save her and failed. She had still died. He had never admitted to Tony that he was a killer, just that he had done bad things. Tony had put up with so much with Peter, maybe this would be his breaking point. He didn’t really see why Tony wanted Peter to stick around when he caused this much trouble.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new handler took Peter’s silence as his answer, leaning forward and unlocking the boy’s ankles from the restraints. “Careful, little spider, there’s still a lot of people we could hurt back in New York if you don’t listen to us,” the man yanked Peter up, still keeping the teenager’s arms locked behind his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man took it as a good sign that Peter wasn’t mouthing back, that he still had some luck in making the boy obedient. I mean the teenager was still shy of fourteen years old, a baby really. Still too trusting of the world as the man pulled him out of the cell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter twisted around looking around the hallway immediately once he was out of the small room. Glancing back at the door he realized that this was all wrong. There had always been a bit of black paint splattered on the top of the door, but instead it was a clean metal. He didn’t expect interior decoration to really be high on Hydra’s list of priorities. Once he got into the hallway, he started counting the steps between the different doorways and began to realize that this was another base entirely, not the one that he had grown up in. So escaping may be a bit more difficult. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice touch you did with the room,” Peter snorted at the man, letting him know that he wasn’t falling for their tricks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well of course, had to give you a warm welcome home,” he retorted before buzzing open a door and shoving Peter through the frame, not even caring when the teenager fell straight on his face, irritating his broken nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t ask for damaged cargo,” another voice growled above Peter and the teenager couldn’t help but shiver. It was the same voice that he always was terrified of hearing when he was living in alleys, appearing above him and dragging him back to Hydra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he couldn’t let that voice control him anymore. Even if he was going to lose his memories soon. He needed to fight for his parents, for Sarah, and for Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter rolled onto his side finding it the quickest way to get to his knees looking up at the graying man in front of him, “Hey Dr. Hoffman, long time no see,” he greeted. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“You had FRIDAY do another scan?” Pepper asked hovering over Tony in his workshop, which had become his base of operations for finding Peter. All of his screens were lit up, displaying maps with all the locations of the Hydra bases across the U.S. that the kid had given him. They all seemed to be inactive at the time, which wasn’t a surprise. He had doubted that Peter truly knew the extent of Hydra’s operations, no one did. That’s how they maintained their power, keeping information diffused throughout the leadership. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No activity at any of the known bases, no one entering or exiting, the most exciting thing that has happened was a family of deer grazing in front of one,” Tony rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock. Three in the morning. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten sleep, simply running on caffeine for the last five days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It made himself sick, that Peter had been missing for five days and they were no closer to finding him. Tony had to keep faith that the kid was still alive. If they had simply wanted to take him out, they would’ve left his body in the alley with his backpack. So he had to keep reminding himself that the probability that Peter was still alive was high. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the same time, he couldn’t help but think about what they were doing to Peter. The teenager had told him about the punishments he had faced and the tests he had endured that had become part of his daily routine. To think that Peter would need to adjust to life like that again sent another wave of nausea to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the license plate tracing, any luck?” Pepper asked quietly, having taken a leave of absence as CEO of Stark Industries to try and help Tony find the kid. She knew that Rhodey was using every channel that he had access to see if there was any back chatter about Peter, while Happy was trying to figure out how it happened, how did they find Peter? Was there another mole at SI? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony glanced over at the constant loop of grainy footage he kept in the screen to his right, that replayed the forty three seconds between which Peter entered the alley and then a van pulled out of it. What had happened during those brief moments, Tony had no idea. Had they threatened his kid? Drugged him? Beat him? The blood on the pavement lent some weight to the last theory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the twentieth time no, we can trace the van leaving New York but then the trail goes dark and there’s nothing,” Tony snapped at her. “Happy thinks they probably even changed cars at one point. Says I shouldn’t be focusing on this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just trying to help,” Pepper countered. “I want him back home safe too,” she defended herself before moving over to rub his shoulders and try to work out some of the tension he had been holding in them. “You’re going to find him, Tony,” she promised him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” He snapped at her, his head shooting up from where it had been resting in his hands. “I have nothing, Pepper, jack shit. The kid told me everything to keep him safe and I have nothing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone is going to slip up or Peter will find a way to get in contact with us. He knows these people and their weak spots,” she comforted him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what? Do I just sit back and wait while they are literally torturing him? A thirteen year old boy? Wait until he gets a lucky slot in what, like months? I should’ve put a tracker in him while he was sleeping or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know why you didn’t, Tony. You needed to give him some freedom to breathe and gain some independence.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Giving him that was what got him caught by Hydra,” Tony shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s also what made him happy and what was best for him. Feeding into his paranoia wouldn’t have helped him. You know that kid had massive amounts of anxiety.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I think it’s a bit warranted considering the situation we’re in right now,” the man snapped at Pepper, gesturing around the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you working up your own anxiety instead of focusing on the things that you can control isn’t helping the situation,” she argued. “You’re not going to be able to find him if you aren’t taking care of yourself. When was the last time that you even took a shower?” Her nose wrinkled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That bad?” He snorted, lifting his eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she reported back bluntly. “I’m going to get you something to eat and I’ll monitor the screens while you take a shower and a nap. That way you know no one will miss anything,” she promised him, squeezing his hand. “Tony?” She prompted when he stayed silent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed, his attention pulled back to the screens, flipping through the various surveillance feeds he had pulled up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed, but left the workshop, knowing that it would be a fight when she came back with the food and attempted to actually get him to take a break from the workshop. Pepper didn’t think he had left the space in three days now. But like she had told Tony, there was no way he would be able to find Peter if he was falling apart himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony on the other hand angrily flipped through the various surveillance feeds he had displayed before him, growling when he had found nothing again. How could this kid just disappear? If they were still hunting him more than a year after he had run, he must’ve been a valuable asset for them. So why wasn’t anyone talking about him? He had been scanning for keywords or clues about this kid had disappeared since the first day, but there was radio silence. How could he be failing the kid so much? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a rage, Tony threw one of the glasses that had been scattered across the lab across the room watching it shatter as he screamed out. This kid was too good for the world, constantly thinking of others before himself, even after years of being brutalized by it. And Tony had one job, a basic job as a parent, keep him safe. And he couldn’t even do that. The draft of the adoption papers sat, mocking him in his desk. He couldn’t exactly adopt a kid who was missing or dead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stormed over to the desk, opening the top drawer to throw them out. They wouldn’t be much use to him anymore. He picked up the pack of papers, before he felt his stomach drop when he saw the simple black flip phone that had been shoved in the back of his desk with only one number programmed in it. He saw the letter tucked under it and slowly picked it up, turning the phone over in his hand, hesitating. Tony knew he needed to do everything for the kid, that was his job at this point. And if there was even a chance that he could help and bring the kid home, a man who had a personal vendetta against Hydra, Tony needed to take it. He owed it to the kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could second guess himself, he flipped open the phone, pressing the call button, praying that this wouldn’t go to voicemail. “Pick up, pick up,” he murmured under his breath as his heart was pounding listening to the phone ring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A simple, “Tony,” greeted him on the other side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steve, I need your help.”  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope that you all enjoyed this! Just FYI, I'm going out of town next weekend so if I don't get a chapter up by Thursday, you'll probably need to wait until the week after that. Let me know what y'all think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry that this took longer than I expected! This chapter was pretty hard to write and I've been juggling a lot of personal stuff in my life so I haven't had as much time to write! Just as a heads up this is a bit heavier in terms of violence and torture in case you have a problem with that, leave me a comment and I'll give you a summary of the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Peter’s head slammed to the ground again causing him to wonder if he was always going to be haunted by the smell of blood. Despite trying to wash it off at night (now with a guard supervising him because he wasn’t allowed to wander his room unsupervised anymore), he always found specks of dried blood the next day on his sheets.The endless tests that were run on him each day since he had been brought back to the Hydra base didn’t help either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had lost track of the number of days since he had come to the base, lacking a clock to track the hours. And the windowless cell (which he was fairly sure was underground) purposely disoriented him. He knew it was one of their tactics, so he tried to keep track of the days by the number of meals he was given. He knew that he had two meals per day since he could barely stand on his own two feet if he was limited to one meal per day. It took too much out of his metabolism. And they still wanted him to build some muscles if they were going to utilize his spider talents.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they didn’t want him to have too much to eat. Peter speculated they were still fearful of his strength and the chance that he could break out of their confinement. So they gave him just enough to get by and be conscious for these tests that they ran him through. He had broken the restraints in the lab on his first day of testing and had managed to get a good punch to Dr. Hoffman that he had been saving up for years. Since then his wrists had been locked using a stronger restraint as Hoffman worked to find a balance of nutrients, sedatives, and injuries that kept Peter under control. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which meant that he was basically undergoing testing for hours on end. Some days it was just poking and prodding, taking samples of his skin and bone marrow, trying to observe how his healing factor may have evolved since he ran from Hydra. Others it was like this, with three guards attacking him, forcing Peter to defend himself while Hoffman could watch his fighting style. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had tried one of the days to just give up and refuse to fight, but that had only resulted in getting prodded over and over again with an electric rod until he passed out, burns littering his body. If he put up at least some sort of fight he could try and minimize the damage. He rolled to the side when he saw another boot aim for his head, his heart pounding as he stumbled back to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter jumped again, avoiding one of the metal prods and scurrying up to the ceiling. He was breathing hard, just trying to focus on staying safe. He yelped when he felt the metal tip press against his lower back and instinctively he let go of the ceiling and fell straight on his back, the breath knocked straight out of him. He coughed up some blood, spitting it to the side so that he wouldn’t be forced to swallow it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter tried rolling out of the way again, but the boot managed to find its way to Peter’s stomach and he cried out as it collided with an open wound. What kind of test was this anyway? He met Hoffman’s eyes through the reinforced glass that separated Peter and his guards from Hoffman, still able to closely observe but from a safe distance. He glared at the man who only smirked in response, holding up his hand when he saw Peter cough up blood again.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His handler quickly stepped towards the teenager, locking his arms behind his back as he was struggling to catch his breath. When he wasn’t being tested, he was constantly restrained. Peter’s arms ached from being restrained, as he was pushed against the wall, warned not to move as Hoffman entered the cell, examining him closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed up Peter’s t-shirt looking at the wounds that littered the boy’s torso. “Your healing factor is slowing,” he remarked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s what happens when you restrict my food,” he growled at the man. “You already knew that, you didn’t need to cut me open again to find that out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re giving you the same diet that you were on previously,” Hoffman waved off Peter’s protest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, ever wonder if that was really enough? Or was it just a coincidence that I grew four inches since I ran?” Peter raised an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoffman’s fingers dug into Peter’s cheek as he caught the boy’s chin, “You know, we all liked you better when you were a quiet subject. You think you’re funny, but truly you aren’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, you’ve caught onto my grand plan, death by bad jokes,” Peter wasn’t backing down. Not after it had been made abundantly clear to him what his life was going to look like at Hydra. His every movement would be monitored until they knew that he was fully under their thumb with their conditioning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter knew the odds about rescuing someone from a hostage situation. If they were taken to a secondary location, then the odds of recovery were more than halved. If it had been longer than 48 hours, the odds were slim of ever being found. When he had run from Hydra, that had been on his own initiative. No one had been looking for him, especially after Hydra had solidly faked his death. So even though he guessed that Tony knew he was missing, his hopes of being found were fading test by test. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scientist rolled his eyes at the boy’s antics. He was becoming very close to gagging the boy, especially when he wasn’t showing any signs of breaking yet. He wanted to see Peter break before they wiped his mind. Wiping the kid’s memory was a mercy of some sorts for him, and one he most definitely did not deserve after running from them for the last year and a half, almost ruining their experiment in the process. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoffman had agreed with Peter’s handler that the most secure way to control Peter and ensure the success of the experiment was through memory re-conditioning so obviously once the child was the appropriate age, he would not delay the conditioning process by wiping his memory and implanting trigger words. But he had a personal challenge to truly see the kid break, realize that his place in the world was with Hydra and that it was his purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finding Peter acting as “Spider-Man”, a bizarre vigilante who seemed equally fascinated with saving cats from trees along with stopping robberies, truly showed that Peter’s soul was racked with guilt. He thought that he had a particular breakthrough with Peter the other day as he had forced the boy to sit through showing Peter his past missions under the guise of finding out what the boy had revealed to Stark. He had no doubt that the boy would lie (and truly he had flagged any information that Peter had been privy to as potentially compromised). The kid’s suit had to be Stark technology, therefore Stark knew about Peter’s abilities. But it confronted the boy with his entire past, and the boy had been escorted back to his cell looking pale and refusing his evening meal. Hoffman knew there was more than one way to break Peter, but for each avenue, he needed to be relentless.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had never tested Peter like that before, always making sure that he rested for a few days in between experiments if they were brutal on his body, in order to gain his loyalty. But now that option was off the table, Hoffman made sure that the boy didn’t get a rest, only when he passed out from exhaustion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Death by bad jokes?” He asked the panting teenager in front of him. “Do you think that comes quicker or slower than death by thirst?” He took a sip of the bottled water on the table before dumping it out in front of Peter, not allowing him to have a sip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoffman knew he touched a nerve when the boy glowered at him and he threw the empty plastic bottle to the side. “Get him up again, we need to take another skin sample of those burns, see if they are willing to heal independently from his body.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Tony knew that there was a good chance that he was going to jail. Despite taking the Compound offline (under the guise of upgrading FRIDAY), he knew that one wrong move and he would immediately be caught for harboring three accused war criminals at the Compound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But if it meant that there was a chance that Peter would be safe, he had to take the risk, which is how he ended up with Steve Rogers (now with a brand new addition of a beard) leaning on the counter across from him at his workshop, sipping on a cup of coffee. On the other hand, Sam and Natasha were grabbing some food for them upstairs. “So this kid, Peter, had been living with you since November?” He questioned trying to wrap his head around the idea of Tony taking care of a teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve was fairly sure that Tony hadn’t expressed any interest in kids before. Sure they had visited kids at hospitals when they were popular as the Avengers, but had never seen Tony as being particularly happy about it. Not that he made snide comments or complained, just kids never seemed like they were included in Tony’s vision of an ideal life. So to hear that Tony had taken in a teenager that he had found homeless had been a bit of shock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony gave Steve a curt nod, but didn’t pull his gaze away from the monitors that he was flipping through. “And he told you about Hydra when? I mean it sounded like you knew on the phone or that you had been expecting something like this to happen.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t expecting for something like this to happen. He had security,” Tony snapped at Steve who sighed in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That came out wrong, but I’m just trying to get a clearer picture of the situation here,” he tried to get the man’s attention, but Tony simply moved to another monitor. “We want to help you but we can’t do that if you aren’t talking to us, so we can match up our intelligence with yours.”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t the time for small talk, all you need to know is that Hydra took him and is holding him hostage.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t small talk, these are basic questions,” Steve stressed. “You know Nat’s been on the inside, she needs to know his background to see if there’s any clues about where they’re holding him now, where they have the capacity to hold him,” he clarified </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony took a deep breath, “He told me about Hydra like a month later,” he fulfilled Steve’s request. “Yes, he was aware that they were still a threat to him, said that’s why he had been living on the streets instead of the foster system.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And did he mention any names or bases or anything?” Steve asked hesitantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony gave him a hard look, “No, Steve, I just dropped the subject and we pretended it never happened. Where do you think all of this information is from? You think SHIELD had all of this?” He gestured around the room. “Kid was on a warpath to try and destroy Hydra, had to remind him to actually be a kid from time to time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good start then, shows that Peter really trusted you and was telling you the truth.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re suggesting that he was lying?” Tony snapped at Steve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I meant that it was good that he was open with you,” he sighed feeling like he was fighting every step of the way so far. “Tony why’d you call us?” He asked the man bluntly. “Do you just want us to give you all the Hydra information we have or do you want us to go look for the kid? Because it seems like you’re barely tolerating us here. And if we’re not helping you, we can leave.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you come here?” Tony turned the tables on Steve. “What are you hoping to get out of this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What am I hoping to get out of this?” Steve asked, almost taking a step back in shock at the question, a chill running down his back. Did Tony really think that lowly of him? After all of this time? “I came here because you asked, because an innocent kid doesn’t deserve to get caught up in Hydra. There’s nothing else, no ultra motives, nothing,” he denied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’d remind you of Barnes or something?” Tony cruelly asked. “Because he’s worth 10 of him. The kid survived and fought his way out and still wanted to do something good at thirteen years old.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve gave him a hard look. Tony knew that was a low blow and he understood that the man was lashing out when he was worrying about the kid, but it didn’t just give him a free pass on all of his behavior. But someone needed to take the high road here because Tony certainly wasn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to find him because he means something to you, not me, and that’s important. Because I can tell by the bags under your eyes that you haven’t slept in days and that you wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t an emergency and out of your depth,” he held up a hand when Tony tried to interject. “I’m not here to renegotiate anything to do with the Accords. We’re here to be three extra sets of eyes and backup for when we find him, since we are going to find him,” he promised.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve watched as Tony leaned against the table listening to him before giving the blonde a curt nod as if he did believe him, as a truce passed over the two men. “So maybe stop jumping down my throat every minute?” Steve suggested lightly while he tried to look over the information that Tony already had to orient himself on the situation, barely looking when Nat and Sam entered with two freshly baked pizzas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nat squeezed Tony’s shoulder when she came closer to him, handing him a plate with two slices of pizza, stealing the tablet from his hands. “Eat, Pepper already said you had barely had anything these past few days.” The two of them had ended on the best of terms between him and the Rogues since Tony knew that she had been fighting to keep their family together too. “You’re not doing anyone any good if you pass out,” she warned him before taking the tablet that had been glued to his hands and starting to flip through the surveillance. “Tell me more about this kid, he was one of Hydra’s experiments? Like Wanda?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t volunteer for this like Wanda did,” Tony grit out and reluctantly took a bite of his pizza as it didn’t seem like Natasha would give the tablet back to him until he had finished a slice. “His family was attacked and he was kidnapped by them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why him though?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It had something to do with his parents, basically it seems like they were working on some sort of immune boosting serum using the cross genetics of a spider and Hydra thought they could use it as a super soldier formula,” he reported back to the woman. “Peter was the guinea pig in their experiment.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They could have used one of the men that they knew was loyal to them though,” Natasha pointed out trying to figure out what was so special about him, why did they use the kid as a prototype? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, he was a kid, he sorta just thought that he got caught up with them and it just was convenient,” he shrugged. “They did it when he was young, like six I think?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six? Who was taking care of him?” She pushed as something didn’t match up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said he lived with his Dad in some sort of cell until he was done with the serum.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that’s a sure fire way to not make sure that Peter would be loyal to them,” she explained her confusion. “When Hydra takes kids, they separate them from their families, that’s the whole point of the Red Room, cuts off any sort of attachment, but they kept his family together? Why?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know Nat,” he finally admitted. “Frankly, I don’t think the kid knows either, he was six. They could take advantage of him because he was a kid. Why does this even matter?”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s not normal, and I’m trying to figure out what’s made this kid so special,” Natasha claimed as she flipped through Tony’s notes on Peter’s powers and its limitations that they had discussed when making the Spider-Man suit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was a vigilante then?” Sam asked as he stared up at the mockup of Peter’s suit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very low to the ground vigilante, just making sure people got home safe, that sort of thing,” Tony corrected while Steve passed Sam a flash drive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is all the information that we have on Hydra bases that we’ve got from our contacts,” Sam handed it over to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s see how it matches up,” Tony murmured quickly plugging the flash drive in and pulling up the map, displaying the new red bases that the Rogues had identified in addition to the blue ones he had already marked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natasha swiftly moved over to the map standing next to Tony before reaching out at the hologram, “If I had to give my best guess, I would say, due to his powers and the sensitivity of the project, he would either be held here, here, or here,” she highlighted three bases. One in Washington, another in Michigan, and a final one in Pennsylvania. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better start knocking on some doors then,” Tony agreed, starting to get things in order to head out and find the teen.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Peter was bored. He had forgotten about how simply boring it was to be at Hydra. When he wasn’t of use to the scientists and handlers in charge of his experiment, they simply locked him away and forgot about him. It was all about utility with Hydra, never about Peter’s feelings or interests. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back home there was always something to do, whether it be fiddling in the lab with Tony or curling up on the couch next to Pepper while she ran through various numbers. He had gotten used to never having a dull moment at the Tower, so he had forgotten just how bad things had been back at Hydra. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could only count the numbers of cracks in his ceiling so many times as he was chained to his bed (an impressive 78 cracks compared to his previous room’s measly 49). He huffed shifting in his cot to try and get a new angle of the room to stare at another part of the wall, even though his limbs were incredibly sore. But then, his eyes caught the pile of textbooks that were teasing him across the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter was desperate for some sort of stimulus even if it was a book that he had basically memorized. The problem was, he was still locked to the bed. They had stopped locking his ankles after he had twisted one during one of his tests and it had swollen so much that the cuff couldn’t get around it. But maybe he could use his legs to grab the book then. He was sure he could use his chin to turn the pages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter wiggled off the bed as far as he could, straining against the cuffs that locked his hands above him. He kept trying to stretch just a bit further so he could pull the stack of books towards him. Peter kept reaching and reaching, sticking his tongue out as he concentrated on the task, only a few inches away from the book when he heard the chain of the handcuffs clink and he felt some of the tension give way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teenager looked up and he saw that one of the links of the chain that held his handcuffs to the frame had broken and was resting on the ground. “No way,” he breathed out, as his heart rate started to pick up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His handcuffs were reinforced but the chain that attached them hadn’t been calculated to hold Peter’s strength. It was the first mistake that Peter had seen since he had been captured. He knew that mistakes were far and in between so he had to take advantage of it. If he could break out the chain, it was one step closer to his escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he didn’t have any time to lose as his Handler was sure to see the break when he fetched Peter for the next round of tests so it was now or never. Peter started directing more of his strength at the chain itself rather than just trying to get closer to the pile of textbooks. He managed to flip up, using the wall as leverage and his sticky feet as an anchor to direct his efforts. He heard another one of the chains strain and break. He started pulling up on the chain, just one more, and Peter almost tumbled off the bed in surprise as his handcuffs were freed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gaped at the cot, not believing that he managed to do that and cursing that he hadn’t tried doing that earlier in his capture. But he needed to focus on the next mission, actually getting away from the base. Peter knew that the door would be locked and reinforced, and he was a bit terrified that if he started attempting to pull at it that an alarm would automatically go off. So that option was out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead he’d have to slip out when his Handler next came to fetch him. That wouldn’t give him much of a lead in terms of surprise, but it was the best that he could hope for in this situation. Maybe he could be fast enough to make it through the base and towards the surface. He could steal a vehicle or something to get away from there and contact Tony. The man had mentioned that Peter was going to have to learn to drive at one point, this would just give him some practice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He scrambled to get up on top of the ceiling, hanging down from there even though his left ankle was throbbing. Peter knew he had to fight off the temporary pain if he had any chance of getting out of here. The teenager couldn’t let his guard down or he might lose his momentary advantage. And he assumed his Handler would be less than pleased when he found out that Peter had caught onto one of Hydra’s mistakes. He had made it clear to the boy that his life was on the line if Peter escaped a second time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was closing in on to two hours when Peter started hearing footsteps nearing his room and he was back on alert, his heart rate picking up speed as he leaned forward ready to swing out of the room as soon as the gap was large enough. Peter held his breath, hoping there was a distinct lack of cameras monitoring the entrance or he would just be left alone here until he passed out from exhaustion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it seems that Hydra had been overconfident in the measures they had taken to secure Peter as the door buzzed open and the teenager threw himself out of the room, flipping over his Handler and landing gracefully on his right foot before taking off down the hallway. He felt the ghost of fingers reaching for his t-shirt as he sprinted past the man and down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter didn’t have time to waste to look back and see how much of a lead he had. His Spider Sense just told him that they were close. His ankle was already slowing him down as is, but the adrenaline was starting to compensate for it as he turned down another hallway. He was pretty clueless to the layout of the base, and the blaring alarms along with flashing lights that had started to sound wasn’t helping him orient himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flipped over another guard that was in his way, slipping past by using the ceiling to his advantage. Stairs. Peter needed to find stairs next as he started to gasp out, feeling like he was overexerting himself as he was sprinting down the hall. But he could rest when he was back in New York with his family.      </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He yelped when he felt a flare up in his Spider Sense and felt a bullet graze his left shoulder. They couldn’t kill him could they? That was going against the whole point of dragging him back here. He was too valuable of an asset. Peter doubted that Hoffman wanted his prized project really damaged. He had to keep running, focusing on what the next objective was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then another spot of pain exploded in his right thigh, quickly followed by an even sharper flare in the middle of his left ribs and he found that he could no longer focus on the next objective. He could only focus on the pain and how to make it stop. Subsequently, he tripped over his bare feet, skidding across the floor. Why did it have to hurt so much, especially when he was trying so hard to get out of there and away from the pain? He couldn’t just give up now as he attempted to push himself up off the floor again, but a strong foot kept him pinned against the floor, pressing against his lower back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even with his increased strength, he couldn’t manage to throw it off after taking two bullets (he had figured out that was what had been causing his pain). Glancing to the right, he could see the deep red seeping out of his body, staining his t-shirt and starting to cause black spots in his vision, before he couldn’t hang on any longer and reluctantly shut his eyes.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“There’s a clear landing area about half a mile away from the base,” Natasha announced on the Quinjet as she started the landing sequence for the plane. For the past two days, Tony, Steve, Natasha, and Sam had been working through the bases identified as the most likely to hold Peter or at least have a lead as to where he might be held. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had truly scared Tony in his search so far was the complete lack of a digital trail. He couldn’t find supplies orders or personal payments that could be traced back to certain individuals that were involved in Peter’s abduction. It was like the kid had completely vanished off the face of the Earth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tech was Tony’s advantage, so if he couldn’t rely on it to provide him with the intelligence they needed, they were forced to do this: physically go base to base and try to find a lead or even better the kid himself. They had started at the base that Peter had described that he was initially being held at when he was a child which turned out to be in Illinois (he had no idea how the kid managed to make his way to New York from there). But everything had been cleared out since Peter had run, and only a skeleton of an underground warehouse was left behind. He couldn’t even identify which was the room that had served as his cell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then they had flown to a base in Washington where they had faced minimal resistance, and no information in relation to Peter. Michigan had been up next, but it seems like Natasha’s information had been a bit dated as there wasn’t even a base there anymore, instead in its place stood a family dinner. So when they were coming up on their fourth base in Pennsylvania, Tony was getting frustrated spinning his wheels in his search. They would need to go back to the drawing board if this base didn’t turn up any leads. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve went to strap on his helmet while Sam, switched places with Natasha, as he would be guarding the plane while Natasha, Steve, and Tony went to search the facility, in case they needed a swift evacuation. Natasha reminded him that even if Peter wasn’t at this base, discretion was a priority as they didn’t want to spook Hydra as to why four Avengers were searching for him. She reasoned that they might drag Peter further down into hiding if that were the case. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when they deplaned, Tony didn’t use his suit to shoot directly towards the base, instead following Natasha’s lead as they approached the back entrance into the base. Unlike the one in Illinois, this one appeared to still be locked so there was a chance at it being active and therefore useful to their search. Tony pulled up FRIDAY to break into the security system and crack the code within a minute and the trio slipped inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because Natasha had insisted that Tony was too close to the situation to think straight, she had stuck him with Steve during these raids. Tony had attempted to argue that he didn’t need a babysitter to which Steve had rolled his eyes. But after ten minutes of argument, Tony realized that Natasha was not going to change her mind and they were just wasting time when they could be searching for Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is how Tony got stuck with Steve hovering over his shoulder as they made their way onto the second level while Natasha was searching the first. They needed to find some sort of lead or they were going to keep running in circles. Steve gestured to a room to his left and Tony turned FRIDAY’s infrared scanners to give them a preview of it. It seemed like there wasn’t a heat signature, but at least it wasn’t completely empty like the last two rooms that Steve had pointed out. It seemed like there were maybe, file cabinets? That was at least unusual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave Steve a nod who broke the lock to the door, pushing it open and Tony retracted his helmet as he looked around the dark room filled to the brim with file cabinets. Steve flipped on the lights, “Parker, right?” Steve asked the man as he approached the nearest file cabinet as they weren’t labelled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, yeah,” Tony confirmed as he started on the other side of the room. “Parents were Richard and Mary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve nodded his understanding and pulled out the top drawer, starting to flip through the files, while Tony mirrored him across the room, disregarding any information that wasn’t relating to Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve, on the other hand, was taking his time when a little picture of a girl, no more than seven, strapped to an operating table caught his eye and he started to begin to feel queasy. He picked another file in the drawer below at random, and it was a eleven year old boy with the label of “Experiment Terminated” stamped across the front of the folder. “Did he ever mention other kids?” Steve asked, swallowing hard as he realized that these files had stretched for years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he was alone,” Tony told him bluntly, not paying attention to Steve when he was on the manhunt for the file cabinet that began with P. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All these files are about kids though,” Steve pointed out again, noting how some of them had been updated as recently as last week and started to pull those that still seemed to be active. These kids couldn’t be allowed to stay at Hydra, continued to be tortured like Tony had described Peter had been through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony’s heart began to race when he located the files that began with P, before finding the one labelled “Parker, P.” He flipped it open, his hands shaking as it was the first lead that he had discovered since Peter had disappeared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was why he couldn’t find a digital trail on where Peter had been held. It was all done on paper in order to achieve the utmost discretion. The first page in the file was a yellowing page, with a surveillance photo taken from afar of a small happy family strolling in Central Park. He recognized the eyes on the grinning toddler clinging onto his mother’s hand who had the same as brown curly hair as the boy while the man crouched next to the toddler, attempting to hand him a bag of stale bread while they were looking out onto a lake, a few ducks lingering by.    </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Parker, Richard and Parker (nee Fitzpatrick), Mary’s scientific research regarding the use of spider DNA in immunotherapy presents a promising development for a super soldier formula. The two are married and live at 61 W 106th Street and have one son, Peter (perhaps useful as collateral). Attempts will be initiated to acquire the research. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony felt a bit sick as he realized that Hydra had been targeting them for a time when the young family had been blissfully unaware. He didn’t think that Peter had any pictures of his parents, so he pocketed the picture into his suit before flipping to the next page and almost immediately wishing he hadn’t. Mary Parker was photographed with a bullet in her head, her eyes vacant. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Parker family has been successfully acquired. Richard and Mary Parker expressed initial resistance and it was discovered that Richard was the lead for isolating the spider DNA and implementing it into the gene therapy. When resistance continued, Mary Parker was disposed of to ensure Richard Parker’s cooperation. The child will be used as remaining collateral to ensure continued cooperation and will not be separated for that reason. Child will be assessed of their value at a later time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony started to flip through more of what appeared to be Richard’s notes on the spider experimentation and realized that Peter shared the same messy scrawl as the man. But there was a lack of mention of Peter for a few pages before he flipped through another typed report. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Spider Serum V.2 appears to be nearing completion. Adjustments include the percentage of DNA that is targeted in order to make the serum more viable. Richard Parker still presents a vocal dissent of HYDRA’s work which must be monitored. Peter Parker appears to be the correct incentive for ensuring this compliance and preparations will be made to use the child in the next trial in order to ensure this continued compliance and to maximize chances of success.    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>So Peter had been selected not just for the sake of convenience, but because it was another way to make sure that Richard’s formula would be successful. If the man was told that it was going to be used on his son, he would’ve tried to give Peter the best chance at survival which was exactly what Hydra had wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Initial testing with relation to Spider Serum indicates that the second version of the formula was successful. Observed changes include heightened senses, microfibers on the hands and feet along with magnetically charged field, and increased strength. Subject has begun to stabilize and the change appears to be permanent. Subject will be separated from Richard Parker and will continue to be monitored. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony flipped through more pages documenting the kid’s testing regime, feeling bile climb in his throat when he saw photographs of open wounds and notes regarding his healing rate, littered across his tiny arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Subject had an adverse reaction to following a kill order today. Handler had to intervene and discipline the subject afterwards. More careful monitoring of the subject’s mental condition is needed and additional conditioning measures may be needed if demonstrating resistance to compliance. Trigger words are not recommended for implementation until subject’s early twenties (see Cury, D. file for additional research). Handler will be responsible for monitoring the subject’s compliance.    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony flipped through more of the pages detailing Peter’s various missions but did not find any more photographs of the kid. He had noted that after Peter had disappeared there had been a gap in the reporting for a year, not suggesting any new leads and that the kid had done a good job keeping himself hidden. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was until there were two pictures attached to the next report, one of Peter in his Spider-Man suit perched on top of a building, and the next was a surveillance photo from the Tower with Tony greeting Peter, the mask already pulled off as they were relaxing on the balcony. He knew he should’ve pushed harder to make the kid’s outfit more discrete. It was his fault that they had found him again. He was supposed to be protecting this kid but he had enabled him to be caught instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next report was only dated a week and a half ago, which led him to believe that Peter had to be in this base or at least in a base that was in direct communication with this one. His heart was pounding as he read over the assessment of the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Subject is increasingly combative and resistant to experiment efforts. Suggested that he is restrained at all times and that his caloric intake is reduced to hamper the full extent of his strength which appears to have increased since the subject escaped. Will need constant reconditioning efforts to get him into a more manageable state of compliance. Trigger words will be necessary in the future and will need to reassess the risk of implementing them early if he is not molded to a manageable state. Missions are not recommended until trigger words are implemented to ensure the security of the subject. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that his-?” Steve asked, hesitantly, breaking Tony’s concentration from the report and forcing him to look up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last updated around the time he was taken, he has to be here or close by,” Tony set the file to the side, intending to share this new information with Natasha before lights started to flash and an alarm began to blare. </span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” Steve muttered. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed that and that everyone is staying safe right now with regards to COVID. It's a scary world right now and we all need to be looking out for our neighbors. I'm going to try and get the next chapter out by Wednesday (which is my birthday)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this took longer than I hoped! I've been finding it harder to tie everything together at the end, but I swear I will finish this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Steve relayed on his instincts, reaching towards his back for his shield as Tony’s armor retracted as he stood on guard. But halfway through the motion, he remembered he didn’t have it. This wasn’t like old times. Tony still held onto his shield, probably buried somewhere in storage since he hadn’t seen it in the lab. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead he just stood alert on his feet, ready to jump into action if need be. “Nat, was that you?” Steve asked into the comms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony was scanning the room for any sign of cameras that could have caught them rifling through the documents, but for all intents and purposes it was an ordinary room. </span>
</p><p><span>“No, my cover is still up, I thought it was you two messing things up,” Natasha countered as she had also been caught off guard by the sudden alarm. </span><span><br/></span> <span>“Thanks for the vote of confidence. No cameras in the room we’re in,” Tony reported back to her. </span></p><p>
  <span>“If Wilson snuck off guard duty, I’m going to kill him, Steve,” Natasha threatened from where she was crouching to make sure she stayed hidden. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve rolled his eyes before picking up on a sound from the levels below. “You ok, Nat?” He quickly asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just confirmed that with Stark, what is your old man memory forgetting that already?” She teased to try and defuse the tension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just thought I heard-” He trailed off when the flashing lights and alarm switched off. “Huh,” he looked around at the now silenced security system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Must’ve been a false alarm,” Natasha speculated, standing up again. “The first floor is clear, find anything interesting on your floor, boys?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we found their records room, that’s why I couldn’t find anything digitally recorded. It’s all on paper,” Tony reported back. “Including Peter’s file.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, let’s meet up there and we can decide where to go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait-” Steve cut her off. “You said that since it had been updated within the past week or so, that he must be close, right?” Steve asked Tony, who nodded in response. “And we have two more floors to search, Nat?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but it’s empty on my floor, must’ve moved recently or something and they haven’t transferred the records.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just thought I heard,” he hesitated for a moment, before clearing his throat trying to get his mind to focus on the mission. “I thought I heard a gun firing,” he finally admitted to the two of them, and Tony’s face paled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, it couldn’t be, not when they were so close, Tony thought. “I’ll take the third floor, you two are closest to the bottom floor,” Natasha quickly changed focus. “Keep your comms channels open.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony,” Steve hissed when he watched the man dart out of the room, not even bothering to check if there were any guards in the hallway as he used his suit to propel himself down the hallway. He needed Tony to be focused and think clearly in order to give Peter the best chance at survival. But considering how Tony had just taken off, that wasn’t likely to happen. Steve rushed after the man, jumping down the sets of stairs at the end of the hallway to reach the bottom of the compound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve’s gut fell when he heard faint cries down the hallway to the left. He had hoped on some level that the gunshots had just been his imagination or someone hunting above the compound. But if there were cries following it, that couldn’t be a good sign. He swallowed hard before directing Tony towards the left. “He might be down there,” he murmured. “I think he’s hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He saw Tony tense up for a moment before flying down the hallway searching for the teenager. Steve sprinted after him and the teenager’s cries in protest growing louder and louder pushed him to run faster. God, this was a kid that he was talking about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Steve caught his first glimpse of Peter, it was almost enough to throw up the protein bar that Natasha had shoved in his hands before they landed at the base. There were four men trying to pin down the teenager to a lab table, as a fifth one was forcing a mask over his face in an attempt to sedate him. No one was paying attention to the teenager’s panicked cries or the alarming amount of blood that was leaking out of his body. All they cared about was trying to get their “experiment” under control. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he didn’t blame Tony when he targeted the man directly at Peter’s head, plowing into him and throwing him against the wall. In fact, Steve jumped in straight away, not even bothering to let Nat know that they had found the teenager, controlled by the rage of this innocent boy being attacked. As he punched the guard that was trying to lock Peter’s right arm in place so they could fix the damage that they had caused, he thought about all the kids that had been taken by Hydra and used as part of their greater plan for the world. Tossed aside as guinea pigs when certain experiments were unsuccessful. If he couldn’t even protect kids, what was the point in him having the serum and being Captain America? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve easily knocked out the second guard that had come to attack him from behind while Tony was taking on three at once. When Tony fought, he usually used his repulsors only to stun. But Steve noticed that Tony wasn’t holding anything back as he blasted the guards away the teenager, before turning his attention on the sole scientist, designated by his white coat, who had tried to leave through the back door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony knew from what Peter had told him, it was never the guards that were truly in charge of him. Instead it was the “scientists” that decided the pace of the training and what sort of tests he was subjected to. They must have been the ones who were writing the report kept upstairs, who had stopped using Peter’s name at age six. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man pinned the scientist to the ground, just as he was trying to pin Peter to the table moments before and started punching him over and over again. He thought that he could bully a teenager? Tony would teach him what happens when he tried picking on someone his own size, not letting up until Steve caught his fist. “Tony, Tony,” Steve yelled trying to get his attention. “Peter,” he breathed out, trying to remind the man of their priorities in the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony hadn’t even registered that Natasha had entered the room before he looked over the shoulder and saw the woman restraining the guards that were still knocked unconscious. Steve hurried back over to the lab table, as he was trying to break the one restraint that they had managed to get on the teenager. But they had calculated for Peter’s strength, which meant that Steve wasn’t able to just break the restraint on Peter’s left arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand back, I’ve got it,” Tony ordered Steve, switching his repulsor to a fine point laser. He could see the kid squirming, uncomfortable by the heat of the laser. But soon enough the restraint was torn off and Natasha was hovering next to Tony offering a roll of bandages. “Tie a tourniquet until he gets onto the plane,” she instructed the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony’s shaky hands didn’t reach for the bandages, instead focused on trying to get the kid to wake up. “Peter, hey, it’s me, Tony, you gotta hang on, kid,” he tried to coax the boy. He had no idea what was a fatal amount of blood loss, but he couldn’t imagine that this much blood was really healthy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter was moving on the table, but he wasn’t able to focus on anything, the sedative still taking time to wear off. He squirmed under Tony’s grip, trying to bat him away, thinking he was one of the guards; the smell of blood was too strong for him to get a whiff of Tony’s cologne. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve snatched the bandages from Natasha, identifying first the injury on his leg and quickly tying the bandages to stem some of the bleeding before they took him to the Quinjet. But what he was more concerned about was the bullet in Peter’s lower back. There wasn’t an easy way to slow the bleeding other than hoping the pressure of the bandage held it steady. But what he was more concerned about was whether the bullet had hit his spinal cord. Or if moving Peter could further damage the cord. They would need to be careful about this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled the door off the frame to use it as a makeshift gurney so that they wouldn’t jostle Peter as much. “We need to get him to the plane. He probably is having a hard time breathing, that’s why he’s out of it,” Steve tried to snap Tony out of his trance, looking over the kid in horror. “Tony, we can save him, but you need to listen to me, ok? I need you,” he begged the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would be harder to carry the gurney with Natasha due to their height difference. They needed to be on the same page to get Peter safely out. He waited until Tony gave him a nod, signaling that he understood Steve’s instructions. “Ok, I’m worried about the back wound and too much jostling. We’re going to use this as a gurney to get him to the plane, but I need you to hold it steady. Nat, I need you to slide him onto the door,” Steve instructed, holding the door at one end and waiting for Tony to pick up the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Natasha waited until Steve and Tony were in place before lifting Peter slightly to slide her jacket under the wound and then use that to slide him onto the metal frame. She winced when she saw the stain of blood left behind. Steve knew that if he let Tony dwell in this room, it would only continue to cloud his thoughts, so he started to lead the way down the hallway and back towards the staircase. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony allowed the blonde to lead them through the base while Natasha worked on securing the Hydra agents. Luckily, since operations were so spread out, there only appeared to be the guards and scientist that had been in the room with Peter. They didn’t need to worry about being attacked when they moved the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony was closer to Peter’s head and kept trying to reassure him while they were climbing up the stairs. “It’s going to be alright kiddo,” he murmured. “We’re all going to make sure you’re going to be alright. And we get to rest as long as you like. Maybe even have a whole Star Wars marathon? I know you’re obsessed with those movies. I mean you’ve got good taste, considering everything that’s happened to you, hated Jar Jar when you first saw him onscreen. You’re a fucking smart kid.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve made sure the gurney was mainly level as they moved the kid, since they didn’t have any straps to tie him down (and considering how Hydra had been attempting to pin him down he wasn’t a big fan of trying to also strap the kid down).    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Quinjet. Once they got on, Steve yelled to Sam to set a course back for the Compound. Natasha would use her contacts with SHIELD to get out and make sure the agents were secured. She definitely suspected that Tony had some unfinished business with the man in charge of Peter’s “experiment”. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony and Steve set the makeshift gurney on the floor, and Steve offered to get Peter onto the cot in the back where it would be safer and they could more clearly assess his injuries. While Steve scooped up the thirteen year old, Tony hovered inches away, wincing when he heard Peter’s whine before settling next to him on the plane while Steve ran to get more supplies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m right here kiddo,” Tony whispered to him, brushing back some of Peter’s curls. “You know, you’re going to need a long shower when we get home, you stink,” he teased, before choking back a sob, when he realized how pale Peter was. It wasn’t like the teenager to be still like this. He was constantly a bundle of energy, making up for time lost and exploring the world around him. Now, the only sign that he was even alive was his chest rising and falling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got him an oxygen line,” Steve reported as he came back to the two of them. “And a saline drip to help with any dehydration or malnutrition.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He needs to eat in order to heal,” Tony clarified for Steve as he adjusted the cannula under Peter’s nose, hoping that it would bring back more color to Peter’s cheeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve nodded, rolling up Peter’s sleeve and getting the IV set up before grabbing a few bags of solutions, hoping that they would act as a bridge for Peter as they made their way to the compound. “You’re lucky he’s asleep,” Tony spoke up. “He hates needles. Probably would’ve thrown you across the cabin.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That strong, huh?” Steve asked, relieved that now that they had the kid, Tony was willing to give more than one word answers to Steve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe even stronger than you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Steve lifted his eyebrow as he settled himself on the seat near Peter’s feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fairly sure. He’s a big softie still though, probably doesn’t even recognize his own strength. He still tries to bring home a stray at least once a week too,” Tony snorted, shaking his head when he thought about walking in on Peter juggling at least four kittens climbing over him in the bathroom while he had just simply explained that someone had left them in a box in an alley. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I get a pet now, Mr. Stark?” A new voice softly entered the conversation and Tony’s eyes flew to the boy laying on the cot in front of him. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey kiddo,” Tony choked out, seeing the teenager with half hooded eyes, still out of it, but the saline solution was helping him gain more color in his cheeks. Tony winced when he heard the raking cough that erupted from Peter’s lungs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gross,” Peter mumbled, spitting the mixture of blood and saliva to the side, trying to get the junk out of his throat.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you are kinda gross,” Tony agreed, carding his fingers through Peter’s hair. “Definitely need a shower or something.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter hummed back his agreement, resting his eyes for just a moment, before glancing around the Quinjet. “What’s going on?” he finally voiced his confusion since he wasn’t sure how he got from the base to this plane? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We found you, kid, well Cap, Nat, and I did,” Tony informed him, trying to soothe the teenager knowing his anxiety around flying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cap?” Peter asked, confused as he was still processing what was going on. Tony had found him? And then he had tried to run or something? Things hurt a lot still and he wasn’t sure why Tony looked so worried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right there,” Tony pointed out the blonde at the end of the bed. The man gave Peter a small wave. “It’s nice to officially meet you. Tony’s talked about you a lot.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to get you patched up kiddo,” Tony reassured Peter when he saw the boy furrow his eyebrows still not quite understanding what was going on. He saw him reach up for the cannula and he caught Peter’s hand before he could pull it out. “Uh, uh, stays in there for a bit longer, just trust me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tickles,” he murmured to Tony, frowning at Tony’s instruction that he had to leave it in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better that it tickles and you get some extra oxygen,” Tony bargained with him. “You want to tell me what happened back there?” He asked trying to understand why Peter had been shot. Did he have any other injuries? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Peter coughed trying to orient the timeline correctly. “Broke handcuffs,” he replied. “Then I was on the ceiling and then I tried to run.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like you were pretty brave there kiddo,” Tony praised wiping some of the grime off Peter’s cheek using a wet wipe and hoping the cool touch would soothe him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter only hummed back and Steve saw that his eyes were getting heavier. They needed to try and get Peter to stay awake for as long as possible. It was easier to monitor him this way. “What kind of pet do you want?” He asked, trying to distract Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Huh?” Peter replied trying to lift his head but fell into a coughing fit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You asked Tony if you could get a pet now, what kind of pet do you want?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Peter paused, yawning. “Maybe a duck,” he finished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A duck?” Tony raised an eyebrow at that declaration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I saw it on a Tik Tok or something,” Peter replied quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saw a duck on a clock?” Steve asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, on Tik Tok,” Peter whined. “You’re such a boomer.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony burst out laughing at that comment. Despite what he imagined was hell for Peter in the last two weeks, the teenager still hadn’t lost his spark. Tony didn’t think he had ever met a kid that was more resilient than Peter was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve playfully rolled his eyes as Tony replied, “Sure kiddo, you want a duck, you’ll get a duck.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome,” Peter replied weakly and Steve had noticed that the teenager was taking longer and longer in between his breaks to blink his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, stay with us,” Tony snapped his fingers as if to wake Peter up who only gave him a weak smile in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He whined in response, turning his head away from Tony’s fingers hovering above him, squeezing his eyes shut. Steve glanced at his watch. It would be at least another hour until they got to the Compound, so he needed to work out how to stabilize the kid until they got professional help.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” Tony tried to coax him. “We’re a team, remember? Can’t have one of the team members falling asleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter slurred, struggling with keeping his eyes open, just as pale as he was when he first entered the jet. Steve began to investigate what was causing this deterioration until he saw the blood leaking from Peter’s back. Apparently his makeshift bandage could only work for so long. He grabbed a fresh one, lifting the kid to try and replace it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter only groaned in response, the adrenaline from the day starting to wear out as his body recognized that he was in a safe place with people looking after him. Steve discarded the old bandage that had been soaked before wrapping a new, tighter one, trying to minimize the jostling he put the boy through. “He’s losing too much blood too fast. I’m worried about trying to take the bullet out on the airplane because it’s so close to his spinal cord,” Steve reported back to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we fly the plane faster,” Tony gritted out as he hovered next to Steve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony, that isn’t possible, we’re at the top speed for the Quinjet,” Steve replied before he started rolling up the sleeve of his suit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what do you suggest? You want me to try and patch up the wound with the bullet inside?” Tony snapped and Steve shook his head again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The IV is helping with replenishing his blood supply, but it’s not fast enough. He’s going to need a blood transfusion to stabilize him before we can get him to medical.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t exactly have bags of blood just laying around here,” Tony ranted as he spun around trying to find something that would work for Peter. Did he even know Peter’s blood type? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, that’s why I’m going to give him some directly,” Steve replied, setting up the line in Peter’s other arm so he wouldn’t have to trade the hydration he is getting from the IV just to get some blood from Steve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You?” Tony asked, a bit shocked. “How do you know if it will even work?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m O negative, I’m the universal donor,” Steve replied back, making a fist and inserting his own IV in to prepare the transfusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Of course you would be,” Tony snorted under his breath. “But there’s your serum, how </span>
</p><p>
  <span>do you know that his body will even be able to handle it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well he has his Spider DNA right? Maybe the serum will balance that part out, we have to try, Tony. He needs something,” he bargained with Tony trying to get him to understand and wait for his permission. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In every other situation, Tony would’ve asked Peter. The teenager had already gone under so much medical testing without his consent, so whenever Tony was curious or felt they needed a test to keep him safe, he always made sure that Peter had the final say. But in this situation, Peter was so out of it, he couldn’t give his opinion on whether to take the risk or not. Steve was looking at him anxiously, as if Tony could give his consent. Like he was some sort of parent for Peter that was deemed competent to make decisions for Peter. But how could he be deemed competent when the kid just kept getting hurt when under his watch? What if this damaged him too? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony,” Steve cut through the man’s thoughts. He needed a decision from the man quickly.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking down at the teenager’s pale face, Tony knew he needed to try anything he could. The risk would be worth it now. He gave Steve a curt nod watching him as Steve started the transfusion, carefully monitoring the teenager to see if his body was rejecting the blood. He tried to keep Peter calm since he wasn’t sure if the boy would wake up in the middle of this, terrified. He rubbed his thumb over Peter’s cheek for the rest of the flight, not feeling the boy stir under the touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Steve had finished with the transfusion, he went up to where Sam was piloting the plane so that he could communicate Peter’s injuries in detail to the medical staff at the compound. Tony didn’t dare move from Peter’s side, unable to let the kid out of his sight, worried that he would disappear again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter didn’t stir for the rest of his flight. While his cheeks had gained some color since the transfusion, Steve and Tony had to work to change his bandages one more time as blood was still flowing from the open wounds. It seemed like Peter’s body needed to redirect all of its attention to just stabilize itself. Bruises that were normally healed within a half hour were still prominent on Peter’s face. . </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without Peter conscious, Tony really had no clue of the extent of the torture he had gone through in the past two weeks. It was a relief to hear Peter joking with Steve for the moments that he was awake, because it was so Peter. It wasn’t a whole new kid that was now skittish around Tony. But that also didn’t mean that he was terrified of the lasting effects of this whole ordeal on the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam announced over the speakers that they would be landing at the compound in the next five minutes and Steve started to help Tony get Peter ready for transport into the medical facility. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The plane jostled the two men as it landed in the yard of the compound, but they had already padded the space around Peter so he didn’t move on the cot. The two of them lifted the cot up, meeting Helen Cho and her medical team in the yard and getting Peter on a proper gurney. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Other than the gunshot wounds, are there any other injuries that I should be aware of?” She asked the trio swiftly as they started to move across the front yard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw his left ankle when we were taking off, it looks pretty messed up,” Sam added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did a blood transfusion about 45 minutes ago,” Steve added. “With my blood, Tony’s been monitoring him, he seems to be doing alright with it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll probably need another one during surgery,” She reasoned with the men. “Tony, do you know his blood type or have his medical records?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I know that Pepper was trying to make a file,” Tony hesitated since he didn’t know how much of that information would actually be useful. “Just with your notes from when he was sick and then some things that he had told us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can always give another pint for him once I’ve had something to eat,” Steve offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be helpful,” she replied as they entered the medical center wheeling him towards the operating room. “His blood pressure seems to be fairly stable considering what’s happened, but once we start removing the bullets, he might need some help.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he going to be alright?” Tony blurted out from where he was standing at the top of the gurney. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering how long he’s hung on and stabilized in your care, there’s a very good chance, but we still need to work quickly,” she stopped him from following her into the operating room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t understand, he doesn’t trust doctors, he needs me,” Tony tried to explain, attempting to move past her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what my team needs to work and give him the best care possible,” she cut him off. “And that doesn’t include you hovering over them asking what they are doing every ten seconds.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be silent, just in case the kid wakes up and needs some reassurance,” Tony argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Tony,” she shook her head again insisting on this. “We’re going to take good care of him. You hired me for a reason,” she stressed to him before disappearing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony made his way to follow her. She didn’t understand Peter’s past. He needed some sort of comfort to reassure him that it wasn’t just Hydra operating on him again. Tony could give him that comfort. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him from disappearing through the doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to let them work, Tony,” Steve informed him softly, trying to delicately handle the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter needs me, he’s only 13 years old, when he wakes up he’s not going to know what’s going on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter needs the medical team to be in the best condition possible,” Steve retorted. “You’re too close to the situation. They don’t need you panicking while they are trying to figure out how to fix him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why he needs me, needs someone to be speaking up for him when he can’t,” he made another attempt to get into the operating center, but Steve grabbed his arm preventing him from going through the doors and he heard the man growl at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tony, they don’t need us fighting. They need you to stay out of the way,” he told him sternly. “Anything else is a distraction, you just need to wait,” he coaxed Tony, directing him back towards the chairs in the waiting room. “If they need you, they can find you right here, ok?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get it, Steve,” Tony snapped at the man. “Everyone else treats him like a grown up that can handle all of this, but he’s a kid, and he needs someone to be by his side reassuring him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get that you’ll do anything to protect him,” Steve told him bluntly. “Even if that meant fighting off both me and Sam. But we’re here to look out for both you and the kid. Dr. Cho said she has a good shot at healing him,” Steve reminded him. “Let her do her job and you’ll see him before he even wakes up and realizes what went on,” he settled down next to Tony in the waiting room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see why I can’t just be in there with them,” Tony grumbled. “I said I’ll be quiet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You? Stark, quiet?” Sam asked, walking back towards them and holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee as a peace offering. “I can take Tony Stark with a teenager, but I know the world is really ending when Tony Stark shuts up for more than five minutes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony rolled his eyes but murmured a quiet thanks reaching for the coffee cup. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With all that fancy tech she has, he’ll probably be out within the hour or something, just take some time to breathe. The one thing I know about parenting is if a kid sees their parent panicking, they’ll panic too,” Sam reasoned. “Try and pull yourself together for the kid within the hour,” he patted Tony’s shoulder, before heading to the command room so that he could communicate with Natasha and check if she needed an extra hand for the cleanup or if Fury had everything under control. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve stayed by Tony’s side the whole time. Whether it was for genuine support or whether to just prevent Tony from running head first into the operating room, Tony wasn’t completely sure. The only time he got up was to refill Tony’s cup of coffee, not even attempting to get him to take a nap or shower. He just watched as Tony passed around the waiting room, trying to get a glimpse of the kid through the operating room’s door. He took it as a good sign that no one had come and fetched him to give Peter a blood transfusion. To go through the things that Peter had gone through at such a young age, Peter had to be strong. Steve’s mind kept wandering back to the files of kids that he had left at the base that didn’t have someone like Tony fighting for their best interests. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Sam predicted, around an hour later, Helen came through the door dressed in a fresh pair of scrubs. “He’s going to be just fine,” she announced to the two. “None of the bullets hit any major organs and we were able to synthetically create some of his own blood so we didn’t have to worry about how the serum would affect his DNA. We had to re-break his ankle in order to set it, but we’ve got that bandaged up nicely now. It’s going to take some time until everything is healed. He has a few fractured ribs that might make breathing difficult at times, so I’m keeping him on oxygen and we’ve given him some pain killers.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s great,” Steve grinned as he could tell Tony was still taking his time processing this information. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He might have some scaring, but we can talk about cosmetic surgery down the line,” she started again before Tony cut her off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When can I see him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him an understanding nod, glad that at least Steve and Sam had prevented Tony from bursting into the room while she was working. “We’re moving him to a recovery room right now,” she waved him to follow her back into the medical unit. “He’s still going to be out due to the anesthesia and then his body might need some time to rest,” she explained. “But we didn’t need to put him in a medically induced coma, which is a really good sign.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed open the first door in the medical unit since after the breakup of the Avengers, the Compound didn’t get much use and Peter was the only patient that was recovering. When Helen pushed open the door, Tony saw that Peter was alone in the room. He was still hooked up to oxygen and IV lines but there was also a machine measuring his heart rate, steadily beeping in the background. “He might be a bit nauseous when he wakes up. We had to use a higher dose of anesthesia and that can be a side effect,” she listed off for Tony.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony bit his lip when he saw Peter. Of course it was reassuring to hear the steady heart monitor in the background, but it also reminded him that he should have never let it get this far. He should’ve protected Peter instead of just picking up the pieces after he got hurt. The kid didn’t deserve to be hooked up to all this monitoring equipment just to make sure that nothing took a turn for the south. He should’ve just been stressing about finals or trying to decide what sort of takeout he wanted for dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony took a step forward into the room, gratefully that Helen had already set up a chair next to Peter’s bed. “I need to clean up things, but if you need me, you can page me,” she promised Tony, taking her leave. Steve was still lingering in the doorway watching as Tony settled down next to Peter, fiddling with the teenager’s blankets before brushing his hair back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good look on you,” Steve announced softly from where he was leaning at the lip of the room. Tony looked up at Steve confused, almost as if he had forgotten that he was there, his whole world consumed by Peter. “Fatherhood,” Steve clarified with a small teasing smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Cap,” Tony replied sincerely. “I’m lucky to have him,” Tony admitted, not trying to deny that technically he wasn’t the kid’s father. That Tony in fact didn’t have any legal rights over him. It didn’t matter because Peter was his kid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you two going to be ok?” Steve asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony nodded, “Yeah, I’m not going to let him out of my sight for a while.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bet he’s going to love that,” Steve laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He likes spending time with Pep and me, he’s good like that,” Tony murmured fussing with the different monitoring equipment to make sure that Peter would be comfortable waking up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s refreshing to hear then,” Steve had to admit that it was endearing to watch Tony hover over the teenager like a mother hen. “If you two are good, Sam and I are going to head out, help Nat with the cleanup of the base. We’ll drop the Hydra agents off with Hill and you can take it from there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they have a little accident while you’re transporting them, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,” Tony snorted and met Steve’s smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll keep that in mind,” he hesitated for a moment. “The other kids, in the files back in the base, that’s our next mission, to go find them,” he clarified for Tony. “Try to get them back to their families, uh, but if they’re like Peter,” he chewed on his lip. “We may need help trying to find families where we can place them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony nodded picking up on the silent favor that Steve was asking of him, “Drop them off with Hill and we’ll find placements for them. Figure I can recruit at least half of  the former SHIELD agents if I say the Captain is asking a favor of them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve let out a sigh of relief, “Thanks Tony.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Tony’s voice cracked. “For helping me get him back, I needed him,” he wiped his eyes as he squeezed Peter’s hand as a silent reassurance that everything would be alright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re always here for you when you need us,” Steve promised him again, before turning to leave. He needed to focus on the next mission. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steve,” Tony’s voice stopped the man in his tracks. “Just because agreements have been created, doesn’t mean that they can’t be amended. The first draft is hardly ever the best one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve glanced back at Tony, some of the tension falling from his shoulders, “I’ll see you around,” he promised the man before disappearing down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony’s attention turned back on the pale teenager that was nestled under a pile of blankets and he sighed. The melody of mechanical beeps feeling the silence as he rubbed the back of Peter’s hand. “No rush kiddo, take all the time you need to sleep,” Tony murmured to him. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think! We only have two chapters left and if you have any ideas for any drabbles set in this universe when this story ends, please let me know!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It turned out that Peter needed a lot more sleep than what Tony had originally envisioned. At first when Helen had brought Tony back to Peter’s room and told him that he needed rest, he had imagined that the kid would just need to stay in bed for a few days, but they could easily pass that time with movie marathons. Things that kid occupied, but still comfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, rest, as Helen originally meant it, turned out to be a lot of sleep for Peter. When the sedative was due to wear off, Helen switched Peter to a high dose of painkillers. One of the side effects was that it made him incredibly sleepy. So it was six hours since the surgery, and the teenager was still asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Tony was regretting his earlier words about letting Peter sleep as long as he wanted. Tony never did well in one place for too long, always bouncing from one idea to another, keeping things fresh in his mind. But it was more important to him right now that he was by his side when Peter woke up at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he hadn’t left his seat since he had come in here. Pepper had checked on them about two hours ago, finally able to meet them at the Compound. She had sat with the two of them for some time, quietly reassuring Tony that everything was going to work out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then she had gotten pulled away, trying to make sure that Peter would have an easy return to school when he was ready and debriefing what happened with SHIELD to protect both Tony and Peter, especially as Tony had signed the Accords. The last thing the man needed at the moment was legal woes while he was trying to comfort a traumatized teenager. Before she had left, she had dropped off a bag of things for Peter that she had brought from the Tower, including the MIT sweatshirt that he had stolen from Tony. She knew that Peter wouldn’t really be comfortable in just a hospital gown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper had also included the Harry Potter book that the three of them were in the middle of in Peter’s bag. Along with Tony, Pepper had been trying to catch Peter up on the things he had missed as a child held hostage by Hydra. The latest of which had been the Harry Potter series (which Pepper had then found out that Tony had also missed out on as it had come out in the midst of his wild twenties). So whenever they had a quiet evening to themselves, she had ended up reading to the two men in the living room. When Peter had gotten kidnapped, they had been nearing the end of the second book.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is how Tony had ended up taking over for Pepper and reading to the kid himself (he didn’t admit to anyone else that he really wanted to know what was next). “Harry jumped forward, but too late- Lockhart was straightening up panting, Ron’s wand in his hand and a gleaming smile back on his face. The adventure ends here boys, he said,” Tony softly read off to Peter, becoming more engrossed in the chapter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re doing the voice wrong,” a voice croaked from across Tony and the man blinked, looking up only now realizing that two sleepy brown eyes were staring back at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “The voice, Lockhart’s voice,” Peter elaborated thinking that Tony must have been confused as he continued to stare at Peter blankly. “Ms. Potts does it better,” he explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Tony managed to get out as he was starting to connect the dots that Peter was actually awake, he was here in front of him pulling his leg. He was not just the kid being pinned down and experimented on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I need to file a formal complaint or something to get Ms. Potts back?” Peter teased with a small smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s with legal,” Tony blurted out to him. “I can go get her,” he started to get up to go and find Pepper before he saw the kid biting his lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Mr. Stark, I was just joking, you can read,” he quickly backtracked, feeling terribly guilty about almost running Tony out of the room. Maybe they weren’t at the stage where jokes were acceptable again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re right, I’m terrible, kiddo,” Tony agreed, his mind starting to catch up with him that Peter was finally back with him, setting the book down to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok, you’re pretty much good at everything else,” Peter shrugged easily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, kiddo,” Tony managed to choke out, taking in the easy nature of Peter’s praise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied, tears beginning to pool in his eyes. He was actually home. This wasn’t a dream. He could never get Tony’s tone quite right in his dreams, but here it was just as warm and reassuring as he remembered.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I-?” Tony started gesturing to Peter before he changed his mind halfway through. He didn’t care if Helen yelled at him for jostling Peter when he so clearly needed the extra reassurance at the moment and wrapped both of his arms around Peter, leaning him slightly away from the bed as Peter tucked his head into the crook of Tony’s neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re alright, I promise,” Tony quickly reassured him. “You’re home,” he insisted, carding his fingers through Peter’s hair as he felt the kid shake a bit, finally letting his guard down and process what was happening. “You didn’t even lose any organs or anything,” Tony consoled the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?" His voice cracked as he was trying to get things under control, wiping his eyes. “You double checked?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got all ten fingers and eight toes, that’s how many you’re supposed to have kid?” Tony quipped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark,” Peter laughed before wincing at the pain in his back, still sore from healing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got banged up there pretty bad,” Tony remarked, fiddling with the kid’s blanket, making sure the teenager was properly tucked in. “You want to tell me what happened?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t run away,” Peter blurted out, concerned that Tony had thought the worst of him when he hadn’t shown up at the activities fair after they had talked about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you didn’t kiddo,” Tony replied softly, rubbing the back of Peter’s hand being careful of the IV. “I shouldn’t have pushed too hard. We should’ve talked about it the night before instead of springing it on you. That was my fault.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were just looking out for me, I’m sorry that I was mean,” Peter apologized, bowing his head and blushing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, this is a no apologies zone coming from you kid. You literally had two bullets inside of you a few hours ago, you get to milk this as much as possible,” he encouraged Peter. “Besides, none of us thought you had run away, and certainly not to Hydra,” Tony told him firmly as he fiddled with Peter’s pillows. “We found your phone pretty soon after you left for school, but we weren’t fast enough to track anyone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They used some sort of drug I think to knock me out, it’s all a bit fuzzy,” Peter admitted to him. “Whenever they weren’t testing me, they had me locked in my room, didn’t have any windows or anything,” he chewed on his lip. “What day is it today?” He asked dreading the answer. Peter recognized that one of Hydra’s strategies was to disorient him so it was difficult to estimate how much time had passed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“June 4th,” Tony replied. “Just a little over two weeks,” he quickly reassured him. “I’ve already talked to your school. You were sick for a few days and then there was a family emergency. The administrators must love you or love that you never get in trouble with them and are just sending over your schoolwork, you’ll catch up,” he brushed back some of Peter’s curls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even with all this?” Peter asked nervously, gesturing to all the medical equipment surrounding him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can always get you to finish up things remotely if you don’t feel it’s safe to go back to class. Between Rhodey, Pepper, and me, we’ve got three master’s degrees to help you work through things.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not scared,” Peter backtracked. “It’s just,” he trailed off shaking his head, not sure how to describe it. He wasn’t sure if he was able to be normal again. It had been an adjustment when he had first started at Midtown. He had to pick up on all the social cues that came with attending a formal school. He had been so scared the first time the bell had rung signaling that it was time to switch classes. Now he was coming back to Midtown, and he just had to act like he hadn’t just been thrown into a terrorist organization and rescued by multiple Avengers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was this one of the tests?” Tony interrupted Peter’s musings who gave him a puzzled look in response. “The gunshot wounds,” he finally explained. Tony was unsure if what he had walked in on was a regularity that Peter had experienced for the past two weeks or if Tony had triggered an escalation due to their actions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shook his head no, “I tried to escape,” he filled the man in. “They messed up, didn’t lock my handcuffs tight enough and I got out of my room.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, kid,” Tony sighed, rubbing his face thinking about how terrified Peter would’ve been.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They weren’t too happy about that it turns out,” he murmured to the man, picking at a stray thread on the blanket. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have put yourself in danger though.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok,” Peter shrugged slightly. “I got out eventually, didn’t I? It turned out alright,” he trailed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if I hadn’t been there, Pete,” Tony protested, trying to get the boy to understand why Peter’s actions had terrified him. “They didn’t care that you were in pain or anything. They just wanted to patch you up so you would survive when I found you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you were there,” Peter stressed to him. He didn’t want to tell Tony that about a few days in, he had lost faith that Tony would find him. Peter had felt like he had needed to look out for himself. “I couldn’t have stayed there,” he shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were looking for you though,” Tony tried to explain to the teenager. He was worried that after everything, Peter still didn’t understand how he belonged in Tony’s life, how he had filled a gap that he never even realized he had. “We wouldn’t have stopped looking for you, no matter what,” he promised. “You have to understand that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A warmth bloomed in Peter’s chest. This was the reassurance that had pulled him through the past two weeks. He knew deep down, even at his lowest points, that if he got out of the base, Tony would take care of the rest. He had been his steady rock grounding his hopes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that, Mr. Stark,” he had smiled softly at the man. “I just didn’t know how long that would be,” he chewed on his lip. “And I couldn’t stay there-” Peter’s voice broke again, squeezing his eyes shut as he thought about those long nights alone.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Were the tests different this time?” Tony ventured hesitantly. Tony rarely directly asked Peter what had happened to him at Hydra. He always let the kid come to him first if he wanted to talk or process something in the past. But the man worried if he kept it bottled up, he would continue to hold the pain tight to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded but didn’t elaborate on it, letting the silence wash over the two of them. Tony again second guessed himself but figured that he would listen to his gut and pushed, “How so?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I always knew that they didn’t care about me,” Peter finally voiced what the difference had been. “But before, they tried to get me to like them or at least tolerate them,” he explained to Tony. “But this time they just gave up on any sort of pretending. They knew I hated them and they hated me,” he shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kiddo-” Tony started again trying to comfort the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They just kept doing the tests one after another and it got to a point where I didn’t even know what they were testing, they just were pissed,” he admitted quietly to the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know it’s because of how incredibly strong you were, right?” Tony tried to comfort him but wasn’t sure if he was using the right words. “Not like physical strength, but that you found the courage to run away from them when you were twelve and make your own path.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter frowned. He didn’t feel very brave at the moment. He had still hurt people at Hydra. He hadn’t run earlier than he had wanted to. It took Sarah’s death to spark his initiative to leave the first time. It was the threat of losing his family that pushed him forward the second time.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brushed over what Tony was saying and continued to recount what had happened, “They were just waiting until I got old enough. Um apparently they couldn’t implant trigger words in yet because I was too young. Didn’t want to mess up their experiment,” he spat out bitterly.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not their experiment,” Tony countered sharply. “You’re Peter Parker.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am though! You can’t just pretend I’m this normal kid. The only reason we met was because I was running from them,” Peter snapped back at Tony, tears pooling in his eyes. “How can I come to terms that they ruined my life and at the same time gave me the best part of it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because they didn’t give it to you Peter,” Tony leaned forward wiping some of the tears that were falling on his cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “You did that, Peter. You made what was a horrifying situation into something at least decent.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They would’ve wiped my memory, Mr. Stark,” Peter’s tears openly fell at this gesture. “I wouldn’t have remember Happy, Rhodey, Ms. Potts, my parents, and you,” he hiccuped starting to realize how serious the situation had been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not going to happen,” Tony stated firmly. “We detained all the people that were on the base, even the scientist that you told me about.” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Peter asked, looking up with his wide brown eyes. “You got them?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony nodded, “Nat made sure that everyone stayed put until SHIELD could arrest them. They’re all going to be locked away where they can’t hurt you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nat?” Peter asked curiously. “As in the Black Widow kinda Nat?” He asked with a grin starting to grow on his face. While he wouldn’t tell Tony directly, the man had observed that Peter had started to grow a bit of a crush on the Avengers as he slowly learned about what they had done for the world prior to them breaking up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup, you had four Avengers looking for you, kid,” he smiled back, laughing a little bit when he heard a small shriek from Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I really called Captain America a boomer?” He asked blushing. “That wasn’t just a weird fever dream.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I think that was one of your finest quips yet.” Tony saw that Peter was hesitating </span>
  <span>on his next question, chewing on his fingernails absentmindedly. “What is it?”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you guys ok?” Peter ventured softly. “Are the Avengers back?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Were they really back? Tony wasn’t sure at this point whether he had forgiven everything that Steve had hidden from him. But it had meant the world to him that Steve had dropped everything, ignored potential personal consequences, and fought by his side to find Peter. “We’re getting there,” Tony finally settled on. “Might have needed a little push for us to get there, but we’re working things out,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really glad, Mr. Stark,” he grinned back at him. “You’re always going to be my favorite Avenger though.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn right I am,” Tony brushed it off easily, but the kind of reverence that he got from the kid staring up at him made him feel complete.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter laughed along with Tony before resting his eyes for a moment. He could still feel his body starting to pull itself back together again and it took a bit of energy from him. He didn’t want to go to sleep just yet though. Tony wasn’t always there in his dreams, but he was in front of him now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, did they ever tell you about other kids?” Tony asked him curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Other kids?” Peter turned his gaze towards the man confused. “It was just Dad and me, and then just me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony ran a hand through his hair, “At your base where you were being held, that may have been the case, but it turns out when we were looking for you that we found files of kids that may have been like you, that were taken from their families,” he explained to the boy before regretting it when the boy looked sick to his stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Others?” He whispered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we’re finding them,” Tony quickly reassured him. “That’s what Steve went out to do. He’s going to go and track them down and get them out and back with their families or people that can take care of them. This is all because you were so brave and ran when you were twelve,” he brushed back Peter’s hair. “Remember when you said you wanted to make some good? Well this is a lot of good that’s happening because of you,” he reassured Peter, handing him a tissue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many?” He asked quietly as he dabbed his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not sure,” Tony admitted, not wanting to inform him of the possibility of many of them being dead due to the experimentation that Hydra had put them through. “But a sizable amount. We found a room with a bunch of their files, including yours, that’s how we figured out you may have been there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saw my file?” Peter asked hesitantly. He had been pretty honest with Tony that Hydra had sent him on missions and forced him to hurt others, but a little voice in the back of his mind made him worry that Tony would be disgusted by the things he had done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, just briefly,” he replied vaguely before he remembered something heading over to where he had kept his suit tucked away in the corner, opening one of the pockets. “I did take this for you,” he passed over the surveillance photo that he had pocketed that pictured the small family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter’s eyes widened when he realized what it was taking the picture from Tony carefully, as if he was afraid he was going to rip it. He ran his thumb over the picture, slowly. “I had forgotten what she looked like,” he admitted, choking out a sob before he opened his arms for Tony. “Thank you,” he whispered as Tony wrapped his arms around him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your dad did his best, kiddo,” Tony promised the teenager, feeling the tears soak into his shirt as Peter buried his face against Tony’s neck, the warm even breathing tickling him. “He was always trying to look out for you and protect you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know he did,” Peter agreed leaning back and wiping his nose with his forearm. “So what comes next?” He asked curiously after he had tucked the picture away on the table near the bed.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony grimaced. While he knew that saving these other kids from Hydra was the right thing to do and he would be behind Steve in trying to place them in families where they belonged and looked after, he knew that it would create a bigger target on Peter’s back. No longer was he just an asset that had run away from Hydra, he now had a hand in systematically dismantling Hydra’s future. “We’re going to make sure that you’re safe,” Tony reassured him immediately. “SHIELD has a few safehouses scattered around the U.S.,” he trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony hated the idea of hiding from Hydra, but if it kept Peter safer while they waited for the heat to die down from the incident, then he would go with him. “You can finish school remotely and then you’ll have the summer.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Peter’s face fell for a moment as he realized what was happening. He was getting sent away. It was nice of Tony to come and be with him as he woke up and got oriented, but clearly either the last two weeks or what Tony had found in his file had been the breaking point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t necessarily blame the man. He didn’t know what he would do in Tony’s shoes if he had Peter show up on his doorstep like this. He had offered to give a homeless teen a home, not asked for all the baggage that Peter carried with him. Especially baggage that could endanger his family like Ms. Potts. And it wasn’t like he was just throwing Peter out on the streets. He was still giving the teenager housing and resources. “Whatever you think is best, Mr. Stark,” Peter attempted to give him a reassuring smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure there, Pete?” Tony asked skeptically, expecting more questions from the teenager about the situation. Especially considering how many he had asked when he was first coming to live with Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, no worries,” the teenager continued, still giving him a weak shaky smile. The last thing that he wanted to add was more stress onto Tony’s life. “I trust you.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony leaned back in his seat for a moment observing the teenager in front of him before declaring, “Bullshit.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Peter countered innocently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m calling bullshit, simple as that. I know you kid, lived with you almost half a year now. My bullshit detector has gotten pretty sharp.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not bullshit. I’m not lying,” Peter quickly defended himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can talk to me about it,” Tony stressed. “I know that it might seem a bit scary at first, but we just want you safe.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged. He knew his real reason would only hurt Tony, add more guilt to his shoulders. The best he could do was take his exit quietly. But he saw that Tony wasn’t letting up on him. “I guess, I’ll just miss you,” he ventured quietly. “I’ll be alright though,” he quickly tacked onto the end. “I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss you? What are you talking about?” Tony asked, moving closer as his brow furrowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I go to the SHIELD safehouse,” Peter replied softly. “Maybe if it’s safe enough I can write you guys, just to check in on how you’re doing?” He suggested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t be going to the safehouse on your own,” Tony corrected him immediately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Peter blushed feeling rather stupid that he hadn’t picked up on that before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? You thought I was just going to send you there on your own right after I got you back?” He prompted the boy, noticing that he was no longer meeting his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged again, “I just thought, maybe after everything,” he started before trailing off. “I know I’m a lot to handle, so if you want to take a step back and send me somewhere else. It’s ok, I understand.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony’s heart broke when he heard Peter’s words, and he knew that he hadn’t been doing a good enough job for Peter. The boy still thought that Tony’s love and care for him was conditional, that it could be given up when things got too difficult between them. “You thought I was sending you away?” Tony asked the boy quietly and he watched Peter shrug again. “Peter,” he tried again to get the kid to look at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that crazy. I know I can put you and Ms. Potts in danger,” Peter wiped his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you think that’s just going to stop us from taking care of you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he trailed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t want to send you away. Having you with us is one of the best parts of my day, why do you think I called the Avengers back together?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You felt bad, or guilty. I know you don’t want me with Hydra, but I can be a lot of work,” he finally settled on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You couldn’t be more wrong, you’re not a lot of work for us Peter. We never have to nag you to do your homework and you always do chores even before you’re asked,” Tony rubbed his hand.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But there’s everything else,” he argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really think that will scare us off?” Tony asked brushing back a curl from his forehead watching as the kid nodded. “You are never going to be able to scare me off Peter,” Tony promised him firmly. “This isn’t just a temporary thing for me,” he stressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Peter looked back up at him, tears still pooling in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never could get rid of you, because I love you kid,” Tony promised. “And my life would be so much darker without you in it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hesitated for a moment because he had been taking Pepper’s advice and wanting to make sure things were truly lined up and cleared to go before he talked to the kid about it. But Peter needed some extra reassurance that he wasn’t just a burden on Tony’s life. “Kid, I want to adopt you,” he finally blurted out to the teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Peter’s brown eyes widened as he was processing Tony’s statement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been making sure it was possible and that it would be private so that people wouldn’t poke their nose into it,” he rambled. “And I’ve been taking these classes so that I can make sure that I’ll be approved by the state,” he continued. “And I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it took longer than expected or there was some roadblock. And I know that you mentioned that you have family in the city that you just didn’t feel like it was safe enough to reconnect so if things have changed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, you’ve got to breathe,” Peter interrupted him and saw the man blush. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Peter, I know it might be a lot,” he started again. “And you don’t need to decide now or anything. This is all on your timeline, but you deserve to just know that you’re wanted,” he continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Peter cut him off, sensing his nerves at bringing this up. “I want you to adopt me,” he told the man clearly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just like that?” Tony asked, blinking at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinda an easy decision when I’ve been wanting this for a while,” Peter smiled shyly at Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we waited a few more weeks, it would be probably safe enough to connect with your aunt and uncle,” Tony pointed out to him wanting to make sure that Peter truly thought this through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I might want to see them,” Peter agreed. “Let them know that I’m still alive and what happened with my parents,” he twisted the hospital blanket in his grip. “Does it make me a bad person if I still want you to adopt me?” He asked nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not at all,” he quickly reassured Peter, grinning back at him. “Come on, scoot over there, kid,” he gestured for the kid to move over in the bed and make enough space for Tony to climb in next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could never make a bad decision about something like this because it just matters what you need and want. We’ll take the lead from there,” Tony promised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter smiled back at Tony satisfied with his answer as he curled up next to the man. “If it counts for anything, I love you too,” he admitted looking up at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It means the world to me, Pete,” he pressed a kiss to the top of the kid’s head before leaning back in the bed with him. “Since I’m banned from reading, how about you give it a stab?” He asked, passing the book over to Peter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” he replied easily, the pain from the last two weeks slowly fading away.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know if you liked that tooth rooting fluff! We've just got one chapter left to wrap things up, but I'm toying with the idea of creating a set of oneshots afterwards so let me know if you have any ideas or what you would like to see!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“We can turn back now, kid,” Tony reminded Peter for what had to be the eighth time this trip. “There’s a great little diner we passed on the way. I could get you a super cheesy burger and an Oreo shake.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tempting,” Peter grinned back at him. After spending a week recovering in the hospital wing of the Compound, Peter had been cleared for release and had headed back to the Tower with Tony. He had finally settled back to his own room, but still he was unable to get a full night’s sleep. “But I think we can get it on the way home, yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony sighed as they rolled up to a red light, resting his head on the steering wheel. “It’s just you don’t need to prove anything-” He started. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not because of that,” Peter quickly cut him off again as Tony started down the country road again. “I can’t sleep and you know that,” he finally settled on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peter, these things are going to take time,” Tony tried to coax him as they continued to drive through the rural area. “Madeline said that it’s going to be a while for things to feel completely normal again, that there isn’t a timeline.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t go on waking up three or four times a night though,” Peter pointed out. “I’m trying everything that she’s suggesting and nothing is clicking just yet. I’m so tired, Mr. Stark,” the dark bags under Peter’s eyes screamed for help, and Tony had been struggling these last few weeks with not being able to give it to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I hate making you and Ms. Potts tired, because one of you usually wakes up too since FRIDAY has that alarm thingy. I’m a teenager not a newborn,” Peter continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I missed your newborn stage, so it’s like reverse parenting,” Tony joked while Peter just rolled his eyes. Tony took another deep breath, “I get this is frustrating for you, but I just want you to realize that this might fix everything instantly.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter bit his lip looking out the window before agreeing, “I know, but I’ve got to try something, yeah? Maybe this is going to give me some closure, see him really locked up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re safe kiddo,” Tony promised him fiercely. “I’m going to make sure that you’re safe and soon it’s really going to be over.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you will,” Peter told Tony honestly. His faith in Tony had been unwavering these past few weeks. He knew that Tony was making the best decisions for him to make him feel secure. “But my stupid body doesn’t understand that I guess,” he gave Tony a small shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll get better,” Tony promised as he pulled the two of them up to the SHIELD holding facility. Tony knew that he would feel better once he got confirmation that the man being held inside had been transferred to the Raft, secured under 24/7 supervision for the rest of his life. But this also meant that it was the last chance Peter had at confronting the man who had chosen him for the experiments and changed his whole life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as Peter climbed out of the car. It was the teenager’s idea to do this, once Tony had explained a bit more about what had happened on the Hydra base. Tony had been skeptical of it at first, talking the idea over with Madeline, Peter’s therapist. She had agreed that while it had its risks, it was Peter’s idea. It was critical for him to validate Peter’s ideas, especially after being kicked down for years by those who hadn’t valued his thoughts or feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> But they had to validate these ideas within certain parameters, which is why Tony had stressed that this was the only time Peter would be seeing the man again. He didn’t want the teenager’s mind to be constantly stuck in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on kiddo,” he clasped Peter’s back, rubbing his shoulder in the process as he directed the kid into the SHIELD holding facility. Tony could tell that the wheels were turning in Peter’s head, but like many times when he was overwhelmed, the teenager stayed quiet. Tony could only hope that this wasn’t a huge mistake as they walked into the lobby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stark,” a man greeted, and Tony looked up, seeing Nick Fury stride across the lobby to greet them. While Maria Hill was properly the head of SHIELD now after Tony had helped restructure the agency, Fury was still playing a part in the background. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fury,” Tony countered without his usual nicknames, the tension rolling off Tony in waves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This the 13 year old that’s taking down Hydra?” Nick pointed to Peter who blushed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His name is Peter,” Tony countered sharply, not wanting others to define the teenager simply by what he had been caught up in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Nick held his hands up innocently. “I’m just impressed that a child had a better success rate at taking down Hydra than the whole of the Avengers.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I would’ve probably been still in there if it wasn’t for Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers, and Ms. Romanoff,” Peter brushed off the compliment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure this kid has been living with you?” Nick asked Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you know, Pepper’s been teaching him a few things about manners.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aah, that makes more sense,” he directed them down the hallway. “He hasn’t said much to us since we brought him in,” Nick reported to the two. “So he might not say much to you,” he warned Peter. “It’s alright, since we got a lot of information just off the base where you were located.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he’ll just become a permanent resident of the Raft?” Tony asked for clarification for Peter’s sake. He wanted to make sure that the boy felt like the man was truly being transferred somewhere secure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“24/7 supervision, no visitors, very boring existence,” Nick confirmed as he stopped in front of a door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I go in there alone?” Peter asked the two of them quietly. “I mean you said that it was super secure,” he explained to Tony. “And I just, I don’t want it to seem like I’m hiding behind anyone,” he bit his lip waiting for Tony’s approval.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony considered it for a moment, knowing that he could still monitor the situation from his security camera. Still, he didn’t feel entirely comfortable letting Peter face this monster on his own. But Madeline had stressed that trust needed to go both ways and since Peter was honest with why he wanted to do it, Tony nodded giving him his consent, “Remember, you don’t need to be in there for long. The real reason we came here was to get that milkshake and burger on the way back,” he squeezed Peter’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if I can get a side of fries too,” he grinned back at the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that can be allowed in the budget,” Tony laughed, pulling him close before murmuring to the boy, “Love you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the one thing that had come out of Peter’s kidnapping and the decision to move forward with the adoption process. He wanted to make sure that Peter knew how much he was loved while growing up with him and Pepper. While before he had tried to show that by spending time with the kid, now he was much more explicit about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you too,” Peter whispered back before Nick unlocked the door for Peter and ushered him inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter swallowed hard before slipping inside the door, his eyes searching for the man that had held him captive for close to ten years before landing on him, the two separated by a clear piece of glass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well look what they’ve got me,” Hoffman’s eyes focused on Peter eagerly as he looked up from where he had been resting on his cot. “Brought me back my little spider. Are you supposed to make me talk, Peter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t need you to talk,” Peter tried to keep his voice steady. He had to keep reminding himself that Hoffman couldn’t touch him from there. He was safe from the man. Tony was taking care of everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoffman scoffed at that notion. There were things he knew that could topple the very top of Hydra. He had no doubt once they had him hidden away, they would torture him for those details. The world was not divided into good and evil though the teenager was under the delusion that it was. “So why are you here then? You want to know why you were selected for the experiment then?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already read my file,” he cut the man off calmly, sticking his hands in his pockets as he stared at the man, listening to the man’s erratic heart beat. He wondered if the man realized that his heart skipped a beat every minute or so. It had started to do that when he was nine. He tilted his head to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re here to berate me then,” the man nodded. “Feeling strong enough with Stark acting as your guard now? You know that you’ve just become his pet now. His special little charity case,” Hoffman snorted getting up and staring at the teenager through the glass trying to elicit some sort of reaction from him. “He probably told you that he’s on the good side and that you’re now a good little boy for him. But we both know that isn’t true. I know all the truly awful things you’ve done.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He knows about those things. I told him,” Peter replied calmly, taking away Hoffman’s ammunition. “I guess I just wanted to say,” he rocked on his heels. “You shouldn’t have killed my Mom and Dad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re still hung up on that small detail of our plans?” Hoffman smirked at him. “You knew it was a necessary part of our plans in order to get you to comply.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it wasn’t,” Peter cut him off again. “It was cruel and it backfired. The moment you killed my Dad, you lost,” he replied in an even voice. “I guess I just wanted you to know that you got bested by my Dad in the end. And nothing you’re going to do is going to change that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hoffman laughed at that, “Hydra’s never going to truly lose, boy, you know that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrugged, “Maybe, I don’t know. But I know that you’ve lost, so I guess that’s good enough for me right now,” he smiled to himself before turning and walking away from him towards the door he came from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think you’re so tough,” Hoffman snapped at the boy trying to get some sort of a reaction from him, getting more and more irritated when the boy wasn’t falling for his bait. “Peter,” he screamed banging on the glass trying to scare him into giving his attention but he just watched his experiment slip through the door that he entered only a few minutes prior.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Peter didn’t realize that it was possible to hate sunny days until today. When he was living on his own, he cherished sunny days because it meant that he could wash all of his clothes and set them out on a sunny patch to dry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he always thought that days like this should be cloudy and overcast like the mood. It had been something he had been talking with Madeline on and off since he had come back from visiting Hoffman. He was able to start sleeping better. Still he woke up from a nightmare at least once a week, but Tony and him had a new deal where if Peter was able to fall back asleep within the half hour then FRIDAY wouldn’t wake the man. Subsequently, Peter felt less guilty on the nights where everything was simply too heavy to deal with on his own, and he needed Tony’s calming touch to coax him back to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony had discovered on those nights that Peter just needed the quiet company reminding him that he wasn’t alone. He rarely talked to the man about what his dreams were about and Peter’s therapist had encouraged Tony to let Peter take his time in coming to him. She reminded the man that it was going to take months if not years to unpack everything that had happened to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as Hoffman had given Peter one sense of closure of this chapter of his life (a sense of definitive safety that he had lacked when he first came to live with Tony), the other sense of closure he needed was working through his biggest source of guilt, Sarah. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because of Peter’s file they had found on the base, they were able to properly identify the woman that had been taken hostage and showed a bit of kindness to Peter while at the same time refusing to work for Hydra. Tony had learned that the woman had still been officially classified as missing when they were able to identify her. So the detectives on her case were able to corroborate Peter’s testimony with the file as to what had occurred and inform Sarah’s family and fiance as to what had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first Peter had wanted to talk to Sarah’s family, apologize for his part in her death and let them know how she was trying to protect him while he was in a very difficult situation. But ultimately Tony had vetoed that idea. There were just too many unknowns with how her family would react. While it had been clear while talking to the police that Peter had been forced to shoot the gun and ultimately was not responsible for Sarah’s death, he wasn’t entirely sure if Sarah’s family would see it the same way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as he was starting to acknowledge that Bucky hadn’t been the real murderer of his parents, he asked Steve to have Bucky keep his distance for the time being until he had more time to process their murders. He didn’t want a half-thought out comment to cut through Peter and undermine all the progress that he had been making with this guilt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madeline had agreed with him on this decision, but wanted to come up with an alternative for the teenager to help him continue to process and realize that this wasn’t his fault. So that’s why they had ended up walking through the cemetery on an early Sunday morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony knew that if they didn’t do it first thing in the morning, Peter would end up as a bundle of nerves for the rest of the day. So he had handed Peter a protein smoothie to go before shepherding him downstairs, taking the subway to the cemetery instead of Happy so Peter didn’t need to feel like he was waiting on anyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This way kiddo,” Tony gently guided him down the aisle, the early morning sun waking him up (along with the two cups of coffee). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrived in front of the grave, Peter hung back quietly next to Tony. He had been up all night thinking about what he was going to say, but it all fell flat. She had been another victim of Hydra’s grip, just like him and his parents had been. Beyond that, they had nothing in common. Nothing that he could say would bring her back. He wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeves. “It sucks,” he admitted to Tony who rubbed his back slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know kiddo, you pretty much summed it up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t need to die, if I had just convinced her,” Peter started, his voice, cracking the early signs of puberty starting to emerge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, we all make our choices in these situations,” Tony cut him off, hearing the inklings of guilt crop up in Peter’s voice. “There are not good or bad choices when people put us in these impossible scenarios.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded taking a steadying breath trying to quiet the voice in the back of his mind that said he needed to do more. “I think she would’ve been glad you escaped, Peter. Clearly she didn’t think what they were doing was right.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter gave him another silent nod, rocking on his feet. “What’s wrapped up in your mind, Petey?” Tony ventured hesitantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just that she didn’t have to die,” he whispered to Tony. “That they didn’t need to target her, like they didn’t need to target me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony nodded glad that Peter was shifting some of his guilt onto Hydra’s shoulders. “Hopefully things will end with the two of you, and they won’t be able to hurt anyone else,” he rubbed Peter’s shoulders. He knew that was an optimistic statement for the moment, but Peter needed a bit of hope to cling onto and get him through the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter leaned into the touch grateful to have the man by his side this morning. It felt good to be able to have someone to rely on that cared for him and guided him through this grieving process. “You still bring the thing we talked about?”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded leaning forward and placed the origami swan in front of her grave, where her family had placed the flowers. The gravestone was still new despite Sarah being gone for close to three years now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took another shuddering breath, suppressing the sob that was caught in his throat before stepping back towards Tony. “It’ll get easier with time,” Tony tried to comfort him as Peter stepped back towards him. “Dealing with the guilt, you’ve just got to focus on moving forward, yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter nodded again as he accepted the tissue from Tony blowing his nose. “Let’s go get something to warm you up. I’ll show you what Pepper’s favorite pastries are and we can surprise her, yeah?” He coaxed the boy who nodded again as they turned away from the grave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Visiting Sarah hadn’t settled the guilt that still boiled in the bottom of his stomach like he had wanted. It hadn’t even given Peter the peace of mind that seeing Hoffman locked up had done. Some things were just not so easily fixed.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Peter, come on, we’re running late,” Pepper called from the other room, and Peter sighed frustrated as he realized that he had messed up the tie again. Why did the knot look so lumpy? And it wasn’t even straight! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a minute,” Peter called back as he worked on undoing the knot. He knew that he was getting flustered, but everything had to be just right today. Tony had shown this to him last night, and he didn’t understand why it wasn’t working out. “It was over and then around twice, or was it three times?” He murmured to himself trying to finish it off, but he realized that it was entirely too short and decided that it was time to give up and call in the professionals. “Tony,” he wandered down the halls to go and find him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This had been a recent development which Tony attributed to months of careful plotting to get the kid to drop the ‘Mr. Stark’ and head for something much less formal. In the end, Peter just transitioned to calling Tony by his first name one afternoon and never explained to Tony why he changed his mind. The man was nervous about pointing it out to the teenager, worried he would regress as soon as he was aware.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bathroom, kiddo,” he got as a response as he drew closer to Tony’s bedroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do this,” Peter blurted out to the man as he lingered in the bathroom doorway where Tony was finishing up fixing his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man turned around, looking Peter up and down for a moment, “I hope you mean the tie, and not all of this,” he gestured to the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah the tie,” he blushed. “Not the adoption.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok if you have cold feet or anything, it’s not like you’re leaving me at the altar or anything,” he teased Peter, trying to calm him down. “We’re still living together no matter what,” he motioned for Peter to come forward so that he could untie the knot that Peter had managed to get into. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I want to do this, promise. I’m really excited for it,” he nodded reassuring him as Tony slipped the tie off the teenager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just you also feel like you’re going to puke?” Tony prompted him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah basically,” Peter laughed.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s lose this,” he tossed the tie to the side. “You don’t need to look like you’re going to your first communion or something,” he fixed Peter’s collar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait it really looked that bad?” He asked nervously as Tony made sure everything was straight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, but you don’t need to be that dressed up. Pepper just wanted to make sure you didn’t show up to this in a holey t-shirt.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter rolled his eyes, “My style isn’t that bad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I’ve seen you wear the same sweatshirt for three days straight.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was comfy,” he whined back at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her point is well taken then,” he laughed before guiding Peter out of the bathroom so</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That he wouldn’t be able to fuss over his appearance anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well Pepper is usually right,” he grinned back at Tony as they made their way down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m always right,” Pepper gilded over to the two boys, kissing Peter’s cheek first before moving over to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you are dear,” Tony smoothed over. “The tie?” She asked the boys curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we have to pick our battles and unfortunately the tie won out today.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahh, I see,” she laughed trying to fuss over Peter’s hair, but he managed to dodge her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I worked hard on this,” he pouted and Pepper rolled her eyes looking towards Tony as the deal breaking vote. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teenagers, what can you do,” he shrugged, and Pepper didn’t press the subject any further. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This way, Pete,” Tony guided Peter with a hand on the small of his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy and Rhodey were already waiting for the three of them in the living room, getting up and smiling when they spotted them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looking sharp, kid,” Happy greeted Peter. “Very different from your usual attire.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone keeps making cracks at that, but all of you guys were responsible for picking clothes out for me. I don’t exactly have money to stock my closet,” he pointed to the adults in the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we figured picking out your clothes for you each day might just undermine your self-confidence.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I’ve got enough self-confidence for the two of us,” Tony snorted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not too late now, Peter, to turn back. Just give me a wink or something if you need me to rescue you from him. Iron Patriot will take your side any day.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch,” Tony winced before flicking Rhodey on the side of his head. “Stop trying to steal my kid, I’ve already called dibs on him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Mr. Rhodey, I’m not under duress or anything,” Peter grinned back at the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s a relief to hear,” a new voice popped up and Peter blushed realizing that he had missed the last person standing to the side in a robe. “Would’ve been a shame that we got all dolled up for nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter shrunk in on himself, still naturally shy around new people. “Judge Calloway,” she introduced herself to Pepper and Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you so much for agreeing to this arrangement, it makes everything just a bit easier,” Pepper smoothed over for the two of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, it was a shorter commute here than to my courtroom,” she smiled trying to break the tension. “And I understand the need for discretion in this particular case,” she nodded having read the adoption petition and understanding why Tony and Peter wanted to keep this a private affair for the time being. “Besides this is a formality more than anything else.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just one last hurdle, kiddo,” Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder to try and convey that nothing was going to go wrong for once. This kid who had faced hardship after hardship deserved to have something go right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, I’m going to need to swear you in, if you could raise your right hand,” the judge prompted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For once, Tony didn’t joke around or make some sarcastic quip. He could understand the weight of his actions on his shoulders. He raised it waiting for the judges prompt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” She asked the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And for the records could we have the witnesses state their full names?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virginia Potts.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harold Joseph Hogan.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“James Rupert Rhodes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, your middle name is Rupert?” Peter piped up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid, focus,” Tony gently reminded him, wanting to get this over with. He wanted to be legally recognized as what he already felt they were, a family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry,” Peter blushed again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quite alright,” the judge reassured him, having dealt with two years olds most of the time in her courtroom, so it was refreshing to finalize the adoption of a teenager. “For the record, we also have Anthony Edward Stark present as the petitioner and Peter Benjamin Parker, the minor child in question.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter rocked on his heals as he looked over for guidance from Tony and the man squeezed his hand for reassurance again. Yes he was still here. Yes he still wanted to do this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Stark, can you confirm with me if all the contents included in the adoption petition submitted to the court are true to the best of your knowledge?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, ma’am,” he responded quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that you still intend to move forward with this adoption petition?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he nodded. “Like you said it would be a shame to get dressed up for nothing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him a sympathetic smile, “Again, these are formalities just to make sure that you are aware of what you are committing to today and to ensure that Peter has the best possible home for him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She flipped through the petition briefly, “I see that Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan and  Colonel Rhodes have all submitted testimony supporting this adoption, but as Mr. Parker is older than 12 years old, I would like to also hear from him about whether he consents to this adoption.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Peter answered immediately. “I mean, Tony had started the process a while back because he knew that it could take a while and I didn’t know he was doing it in the beginning,” he quickly explained not wanting to accidentally lie to the judge. “But he always made it clear that it was up to me whether we would go forward with it or not.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you are happy with moving forward with this?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very,” Peter admitted to her looking up at the judge. “Tony was the first person that tried to give me a home in ten years. He’s always made me feel welcome here and taken care of and loved, and I guess this just makes it more permanent.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Mr. Stark, do you understand what you are committing to today?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid’s going to legally become mine,” Tony answered simply, pressing a kiss to the top of Peter’s head to reassure him that his answer had been enough. God, he felt like the luckiest man in the world to have the privilege of adopting this amazing kid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And do you intend to provide him with a safe and loving home as described in the adoption petition?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, like the kid said, it’s not going to be much different from how it is now. We’ve got a good thing going on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And do you understand that these responsibilities and duties as explained in the petition will carry on until Peter is at least a legal adult?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to stop loving the kid just because he turns 18,” he smiled down at Peter. “So yeah, I think I can agree to that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That pretty much sums things up as I see no objection in the home assessment or any of the testimony submitted in the original petition or in front of me today, if you two would be willing to sign,” she handed both of them a pen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony and Peter leaned forward, quickly scrawling their names across the appropriate spots on the petition, signifying the finalization of it, before pushing it back to her.        </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, and with that,” she quickly looked it over, making sure that the two didn’t accidentally mess up their names before signing her own name. “Peter, you are officially Peter Benjamin Parker Stark, congratulations to the both of you,” she grinned widely at the pair. This was the best part of her job. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quite a mouthful there kiddo,” Tony tugged the boy into a hug, tears welling up in his eyes. He had a son. Finally, everything had fallen into place and he could properly give the kid the family that the kid needed and deserved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s worth it,” Peter tearily laughed as he clung onto Tony. He wasn’t alone in the world anymore. He had someone who was going to take care of him from here on out, who had fought for him over and over again. “Thank you,” he whispered again, burying his head in the crook of Tony’s neck.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Peter felt his shoes stick as he was making his way down the hallway, so much so that he almost tripped, bumping into Tony. “Sorry,” he murmured to him as he straightened himself up again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony simply gave him a reassuring smile, not pushing as to why his coordination was worse than usual. He knew that there was a million things racing in his mind. “Just make sure that your shoelaces aren’t undone,” he pointed out to the teenager as he checked the address on the phone again.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yeah,” Peter quickly bent down quickly re-tying his shoes. He had hoped that being in this building would trigger some sort of a memory to him. But it looked like every other apartment building in New York. The hallways were poorly lit, someone’s band was practicing behind one of the doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This should be the one,” Tony pointed out to the apartment labeled 4D on the left. Luckily for them the hallway was mostly empty so they would be able to have a bit of privacy in the moment. “You’re sure you still want to do this?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it feels right,” Peter nodded, starting to get some more of his confidence back into him before he reached out knocking on the door, waiting in silence before a woman answered it and he greeted, “Hey Aunt May.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there you go, that's the end of it (hopefully this wrapped up most loose ends)! I really hope that y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I have about a month until I start law school so I can't commit to writing a sequel at this time but if you guys have any one-shots as prompts, please let me know!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Author's Note</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hi y'all! I finally finished with my first semester of law school and felt inspired to crank out a fluffy Christmas One-Shot that should be linked to this story in the series tag! I'm hoping to publish one or two more one-shots from the prompts that you've guys have sent me over the next few weeks so stay tuned.</p>
  </div></div>
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